New Delhi: Bihar’s upcoming assembly elections are being overshadowed by a heated controversy surrounding a major revision of the state’s voter list. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a “special intensive revision,” the first of its kind since 2003, aiming to update the rolls and remove ineligible voters. This includes addressing issues such as migration, urbanisation, unreported deaths, and concerns about duplicate or illegal entries, including those of foreign nationals.
The ECI maintains that the revision is necessary to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. The process focuses on verifying voter residency, requiring registration at one’s place of ordinary residence, rather than simply property ownership. This has drawn criticism from opposition parties, who argue that the strict documentation requirements could disproportionately affect migrants and other vulnerable populations, potentially disenfranchising millions.
The opposition alleges the timing of the revision, so close to the elections, is politically motivated and lacks transparency. They have labelled it a “reset” of the voter list, designed to exclude genuine voters.
The INDIA bloc has announced plans for protests and legal challenges, while the Association of Democratic Reforms has approached the Supreme Court to question the ECIs decision. In contrast, the BJP, the ruling party in Bihar, strongly supports the ECIs’ action.
They maintain that the revision is vital for combating fake voting and ensuring a clean election. The BJP’s Bihar leaders argue that it is essential to identify instances of individuals voting in multiple constituencies, a practice often associated with migrant workers.
The revision involves a document mandate affecting 2.93 crore voters whose details were missing from the 2003 rolls. The difficulty of accessing and obtaining the required documents, particularly for those in socio-economically disadvantaged circumstances, further exacerbates concerns about potential disenfranchisement. The coming weeks will likely see escalating political tension as the controversy unfolds.