The first time voters among the Bru refugees of Mizoram taking shelter in Tripura for over two decades are in a dilemma.
Also read: Women again outnumber male voters in Mizoram; final voters’ list published
They are completely unaware whether their names have been included in the final electoral rolls published in Mizoram on Friday.
Leaders of the forum of the displaced Bru refugees have contacted the competent authorities to ascertain the facts.
Around 12,018 voters from among the over 35,000 Reang tribal immigrants were enrolled in the electoral list of Mizoram till last year and 60 per cent of them have cast votes in the November 28 Mizoram Assembly polls.
According to the tribal leaders over 6,000 more people are now eligible for enrolment in as first-time voters.
The Mizoram Election Department officials said eligible candidates with proper residential proof of the Mizoram government would certainly have their names included in the voters’ list.
The final electoral rolls, published by Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer Ashish Kundraon, the total number of 7,84,748 electorates, comprises 14,032 new voters and 4,02,408 women.
Meanwhile, there is also no confirmation from the election office in Aizawl.
During the Assembly polls late last year for the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, 15 special polling stations were set up at Kanhmun, a village along the Mizoram-Tripura border, to facilitate voting of the Bru refugees.
Over 35,000 Reang tribal refugees, comprising 5,907 families, have been staying in Tripura’s Kanchanpur and Panisagar sub-divisions for the past 21 years following ethnic tension after a Mizo forest official was killed in the neighbouring state.
