AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
India is carrying out a large-scale voter verification drive ahead of upcoming state elections that begin in March, but the effort is drawing criticism from the people tasked with doing the work. Many are public school teachers pulled from classrooms who are now facing long hours and tight deadlines. Reporter Devina Gupta met some of them and sent us this report from northern India.
(SOUNDBITE OF DISHES BANGING AROUND)
DEVINA GUPTA: In a small apartment in Noida just outside Delhi, Anu Sharma is making breakfast for her family. Sharma is a primary schoolteacher in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. But for over a month now, she's been working as a booth-level officer to verify voters for India's electoral roles. That means going door to door collecting identity documents, checking addresses and filling out stacks of forms often late into the night.
ANU SHARMA: (Through interpreter) We are treated horribly, first by voters who feel this is a useless exercise and just throw away the forms. Then I reach home very late, then cook dinner and upload all the data until very early morning. I barely sleep for two hours. And there's the constant pressure from authorities to complete at least 100 to 200 verifications every day.
GUPTA: This demand is impossible to meet Sharma says. Within four weeks, she has only verified some 700 voters, and this work has also come at a personal cost.
SHARMA: (Through interpreter) My son had nose surgery, and I couldn't look after him for even two days. I cried and felt guilty like I wasn't a good mother.
GUPTA: This work is mandatory, and Sharma's experience reflects that of thousands of officials, including government-sponsored child care workers who are conducting voter verification ahead of state elections starting in March. These elections are important for the ruling Hindu Nationalist Party, the BJP, as it seeks to solidify its base across the southern and eastern states.
MEGHRAJ BHATI: (Non-English language spoken).
GUPTA: Meghraj Bhati is teaching a class in Noida. He's also the national president of the Teachers' Federation of India. He says pulling teachers out of classrooms has left schools severely understaffed. In his case, nearly half of his teaching staff are gone.
BHATI: (Through interpreter) This has directly affected exam preparation. Out of 10 teachers, eight are working as booth-level officers. How can the remaining two manage the entire school?
GUPTA: The pressure has sparked protests.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).
GUPTA: In the southern state of Kerala, hundreds of election workers took to the streets in November, demanding reduced workloads and better pay. Each booth-level officer is paid nearly $135, as annual payment for their work that could take weeks. A Delhi-based think tank SPECT reports that at least 33 election officials have died since the verification drive began in November. NPR has not independently verified these deaths. Families of several victims have linked their deaths to extreme work pressure. India's Election Commission denies that claim.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BOUJE (FEAT. SHABBA)")
J PERRY: (Singing) Stop. One, two, let's go. Everybody dance and bouger, bouger.
GUPTA: Instead, it highlights efforts like organizing a dance class for election officials during their break to help them destress, but experts say the problem runs deeper.
YAMINI AIYAR: They are not asked about their work burdens. They are commanded into work.
GUPTA: Yamini Aiyar is the former president of the think tank Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
AIYAR: In some senses, what we are seeing today is heightened consequence of the pathologies of our politics that is pushing these processes with limited transparency, limited information and absolutely no power given to the frontline officers who are charged with doing this.
GUPTA: India's Supreme Court has now directed states to deploy extra staff, and under pressure, the Election Commission doubled the pay for booth-level officers from nearly $70 to the current $135 and added special cash incentives for top performers. But for workers like Sharma, the biggest challenge remains public cooperation.
SHARMA: (Through interpreter) Of 100% of the voters I go to verify their identities, only 20% are taking this exercise seriously. What kind of work are we really doing?
GUPTA: For now, the verification drive continues as India races to upgrade its voter list for half a billion people ahead of crucial state elections later this year.
For NPR News, I'm Devina Gupta in Noida in India. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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