What is the controversy around Bihar voter list revision and why is Opposition crying foul?
Launched on June 24, the Special Intensive Revision is aimed at updating the electoral roll by identifying ineligible voters, removing duplicate or deceased entries, and adding new eligible electors.
As Bihar braces for Assembly elections in November this year, an electoral exercise has snowballed into a major political flashpoint. The Election Commission’s (EC) launch of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s voter list has triggered daily protests and warnings from the Opposition, especially the Congress and RJD, who claim the revision could result in large-scale disenfranchisement of genuine voters.
Launched on June 24, the Special Intensive Revision is aimed at updating the electoral roll by identifying ineligible voters, removing duplicate or deceased entries, and adding new eligible electors. The EC has described this as necessary due to factors like rapid urbanisation, mass migration, non-reporting of deaths, and alleged presence of illegal immigrants in the rolls. The last such revision in Bihar was conducted in 2003.
What the EC found so far
The Election Commission (EC) on Friday published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, following the completion of the month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. No compiled list was made available, but voters can check their names on the EC's website.
The Election Commission reported there were 7.93 crore registered voters in the state before the SIR began in June. 7.23 crore enumeration forms (out of 7.90 crore electors) were received and digitised, 35 lakh voters either permanently migrated or were not traceable since June 24. 22 lakh were reported deceased. 7 lakh voters were found registered in multiple locations. 1.2 lakh forms were still pending. The EC clarified that forms are still being scrutinised and that a claims and objections period from August 1 to September 1 will allow for genuine voters to be added back or corrections to be made.
Why is the Opposition protesting?
Opposition parties, particularly the Congress and RJD, allege that the SIR is a tool for “willful exclusion” of voters, especially those from vulnerable and migrant populations. They accuse the BJP-led Centre and the EC of launching the revision exercise with ulterior motives just months ahead of the polls.
“This is a clear and explicit admission by the EC that all is not well with India’s electoral rolls,” said a group of Congress leaders, claiming that the Commission is seeking to discard the current rolls entirely and rebuild them from scratch in record time.
The Opposition fears that state machinery could be misused to decide who qualifies as a voter, with lakhs of government officials overseeing document verification at the booth level. They have been raking up the voter list revision issue continuously in the ongoing Parliament sessions.
Tejashwi Yadav alleges “conspiracy”
RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, has gone a step further, calling the revision a “conspiracy” to influence the upcoming elections.
“The last voter list revision in 2003 took two years. Now they want to revise the entire roll of 8 crore people in just 25 days, and that too when 73per cent of Bihar is facing floods,” Tejashwi said, reported NDTV.
INDIA bloc flags ‘attack on Constitution’
A delegation of leaders from 11 INDIA bloc parties recently met with top EC officials, calling the SIR the “worst attack on the basic structure of the Constitution.” They argued that the exercise was being weaponised to disenfranchise select groups, particularly those likely to vote against the ruling BJP.
While the EC maintains that the process is transparent and designed to improve electoral integrity, the political temperature continues to rise.