New Delhi: The Bihar assembly elections were conducted smoothly and peacefully, recording the highest voter turnout in many years. This was special because it was the first major SIR (Special Summary Revision) of the state’s electoral roll in more than two decades. The Election Commission (EC) believes this successful experience will boost its confidence as it now prepares for Phase 2 of SIR in over a dozen other states and Union Territories where elections are scheduled for the next year.
The large participation of voters in both the SIR process and the Bihar elections has sent a strong message. It shows that the opposition’s “vote chori” (vote theft) campaign, led by Congress and strongly pushed by Rahul Gandhi through his ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ and media interactions, did not connect with the public. Congress’ low tally of six seats has further strengthened this step taken by the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Election Commission, saying the high voting percentage, especially among weaker sections, was a big achievement. He highlighted the absence of repolls, which was common during the “jungle raj” era. It shows how much the system has improved. He congratulated election officials, security forces, and voters, emphasising that every vote matters for the democracy.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had also refused to accept the opposition’s request to stop or cancel the SIR in Bihar. Their concern was that the process might deprive weaker sections and minorities of their voting rights. However, a high percentage of voting from these groups proved all the statements wrong.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar also pointed out that there were “zero appeals” against Bihar’s final voter list, and there was not a single repoll request from over 2,600 candidates or 12 parties. According to him, this showed the EC’s commitment to transparency and accuracy. Even though he faced personal criticism from political leaders and misleading online campaigns, the EC followed the law and maintained transparency at every step, ensuring voter trust and timely completion of the election process, as reported by TOI, he said this.