The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered a major political controversy in Bihar, where assembly polls are due later this year, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that it was designed to "benefit the ruling NDA", a charge denied by the Election Commission of India (EC) that is carrying out the exercise.
The issue has also reached the Supreme Court, which will hear petitions on July 10 challenging the Election Commission's decision to carry out the exercise in Bihar.
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?
The Election Commission on June 24 issued a notification to begin a door-to-door verification of Bihar's eight crore voters.
According to the process, all voters in the state are required to sign enumeration forms, in duplicates, that come with their names, addresses and photographs printed, and return these with fresh photographs along with a valid proof of residence.
However, those whose names were not in the electoral rolls of 2003 will have to provide additional documents, a feature of the SIR that has been the main bone of contention.
The objective of SIR is to ensure that the names of all eligible citizens are included in the electoral rolls so as to enable them to exercise their franchise. The revision is being carried out under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act (RP Act), which authorises the EC to undertake special revisions at any time for reasons recorded in writing.
The last intensive revision for Bihar was conducted by the poll panel in 2003. The exercise is being executed by one lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), aided by four lakh volunteers and thousands of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by political parties.
The EC has cited large-scale additions and deletions in the electoral rolls over the past 20 years, driven by migration and urbanisation, as a key reason for the fresh revision. The Commission has also noted that the presence of duplicate entries necessitates a clean-up. Although the plan is to extend SIR to the rest of the country, the exercise is currently being rolled out only in Bihar, which heads to polls later this year.
Unlike the 2003 revision where enumerators conducted house-to-house verification using printed voter lists, the 2024 SIR requires voters to proactively submit enumeration forms to BLOs.
Electors registered as of January 2003 do not need to submit additional documents beyond the 2003 roll extract. However, voters added post-2003 must furnish documentation establishing their date and place of birth, along with that of their parent(s), where applicable.
Why the political uproar?
The SIR has been under attack from the opposition INDIA bloc, which has alleged that it was designed to "benefit the ruling NDA", and that the poll panel, which had allegedly helped the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra by "adding fake voters", was now trying to "wrongfully delete" the names of many such people in Bihar who were unlikely to vote for the ruling dispensation.
The opposition INDIA bloc, led by Tejashwi Yadav and supported by CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, has moved the Supreme Court against the SIR. A protest march to the EC office in Patna was led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.
Concerns are also being voiced over a clause that states Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) "will refer cases of suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955", which, it is feared, could be used against a large number of "unwanted" voters in the Seemanchal region bordering Nepal.
What are their key concerns?
Targeted timing: Why is this being done only in Bihar and right before elections?
Exclusion fears: Allegations that the EC aims to delete voters unlikely to support the NDA.
Document burden: Over three crore people who weren't in the 2003 rolls face a heavier documentation process.
Youth scrutiny: Voters born after 1987 must also furnish their parents' date and place of birth if the latter were not listed in 2003.
Unacceptable exclusions: Common documents like Aadhaar and MNREGA cards are not accepted as valid ID. The EC has stated that Aadhaar is neither proof of citizenship nor date of birth, which is why it is excluded. Accepted documents include caste certificates, land allotment records and family registers.
Fears over disenfranchisement and misuse: The clause empowering EROs to decide on "claims and objections" has raised alarms, with opposition leaders fearing misuse.
Migrant exclusion concerns: Migrant workers and students, many of whom move frequently, may struggle to meet documentation deadlines. Critics argue that while the RP Act considers temporary absence as still meeting the "ordinarily resident" requirement, SIR implementation may overlook this nuance.
What is the EC's response?
The poll panel has maintained that the revision is lawful and constitutional. It says the exercise is necessary due to massive demographic shifts in the last two decades. So far, the door-to-door process has covered 2.88 crore voters (approximately 36.5%).
What opposition leaders say?
"Why has this exercise been ordered only in Bihar when in 2003 a similar revision of electoral rolls was undertaken for the entire country? And why just before the assembly polls? If it was so urgent, why was the work not started immediately after last year's Lok Sabha elections," RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who leads the INDIA bloc charge in the upcoming elections, said.
His ally Dipankar Bhattacharya, the general secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, claims that the EC has opted for a "logistical nightmare" and that it was almost impossible to complete, by July 25, the exercise that involves more than eight crore voters, most of them living in areas that are ravaged by floods during monsoons.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleged that the EC was attempting to steal votes in Bihar, just as he claimed it had done in Maharashtra. Sharpening his criticism of the poll body and the ruling government, Rahul said, “In Maharashtra, the mandate was stolen. Now in Bihar, the right to vote is under threat an old conspiracy in a new form. We will continue to expose these anti-Constitutional forces. Together with the people and the youth, we will give a fitting reply.”
Ground realities?
Citizens are flagging serious issues in the implementation of SIR.
"I was aghast to see that my son's address was listed as a cremation ground ('shamshaan ghat'). My daughter-in-law's address was left blank," said a resident of Muzaffarpur, who requested anonymity.
Plea in apex court
The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a batch of petitions challenging the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Several fresh pleas, including a joint petition by opposition parties -- Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, JMM, CPI and CPI (ML) -- were filed in the apex court against the poll panel's decision to conduct the exercise before the state goes to polls later this year.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI and ENS)