Bihar voter revision risks fairness, may exclude poor: INDIA bloc tells EC

New Delhi: A delegation of Opposition parties strongly objected to the Election Commission of India’s decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar just months ahead of the assembly elections. The parties alleged that the move, announced belatedly, could compromise the fairness of the electoral process and disproportionately affect marginalised communities.

An 18-member delegation representing 11 INDIA bloc constituents — including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (CPI), and CPI (M-L) — met with ECI officials at Nirvachan Sadan on Wednesday to register their formal protest.

Briefing the media after the meeting, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the timing of the revision raised serious concerns.

“This exercise involves verifying over 7.75 crore voters in Bihar. With barely 2–3 months left for the assembly polls, such a massive exercise is neither practical nor fair,” he said, calling it a violation of the level playing field essential for free and fair elections.

Singhvi, accompanied by RJD MP Manoj Jha, CPI (M-L)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, and others, said the delegation also expressed strong disapproval of the EC's new rule restricting the number of party representatives in such meetings. He said senior leaders like Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera were denied entry and made to wait outside.

“This kind of limitation on who can meet the Commission — capping it at two people including the party president — is unprecedented and arbitrary,” Singhvi said.

The opposition leaders further questioned the timing of the announcement, pointing out that no mention of a Special Intensive Revision had been made in the EC’s public communications over the past six months.

“When this exercise was done in 2003, general elections were a year away, and assembly elections two years away. Now there are just a few months left,” Singhvi said.

The delegation alleged that for the first time, the EC was asking voters to furnish multiple documents, a move that could lead to the exclusion of poor, marginalised, and rural populations from the voter rolls.

“This sudden push for documentation, at this late stage, will disenfranchise those who lack the means to comply,” he warned.

RJD’s Manoj Jha echoed the concern, saying the exercise was suspicious in intent and its implementation would result in widespread confusion and voter suppression.

CPI (M-L) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said the revision risks becoming a tool of manipulation if carried out without transparency or adequate time.

The leaders urged the Commission to defer the revision exercise and ensure that electoral reforms, if necessary, are conducted in a manner that does not affect voter rights or compromise democratic integrity.

IANS