NEW DELHI: As the month-long window for claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls closes on Monday, the Election Commission informed that it has received only 144 applications from political parties, including 16 from the BJP, 10 from the RJD, and 118 from CPI (M-L) against the draft rolls of 7.24 crore electors.
In contrast, the electors filed nearly 2.53 lakh claims and objections for the inclusion of eligible voters and exclusion of ineligible ones, of which 40,630 have already been disposed of, it said.
The 118 applications submitted by the CPI (M-L) included 15 for inclusion and 103 for exclusion, while the BJP filed 16 objections only for exclusion, and the RJD submitted just 10 for inclusion, the poll panel said.
Forms received from new electors on attaining 18 years of age or above, including 45 such requests from Booth Level Agents (BLAs) through Form 6 and Form 6 with declaration stood at 16,56,886, and out of these 91,462 cases have been disposed of so far.
The EC released the data amid severe criticism by the Congress and RJD are against the ongoing SIR exercise, alleging it was designed to disenfranchise voters.
The commission clarified that generic complaints without prescribed forms are not treated as valid claims or objections, and that no claims were filed by persons outside their own Assembly constituency, in line with the provisions of the Representation of the
People Act, 1950. The panel said that specific objections can also be filed by non-electors of an Assembly constituency.