The Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls has raised eyebrows. The Opposition doubts whether the massive exercise can finish within the short period. They ask why wait till so close to the Assembly elections to launch it. They wonder why impose on the electorate the additional burden of proving their Indian citizenship, requiring documentary proof not within easy reach of many electors or unavailable at all. They argue the ECI should have raised much earlier its concerns about non-citizens figuring on Bihar’s voter list. The core question is whether the SIR, initiated under such contestable circumstances, could disenfranchise many eligible electors.
The worry is about electors at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, which comprises unorganised and migrant labour and the oppressed classes. Now is the time in Bihar, when the Kharif sowing and transplantation signal migration of labour looking for construction work outside the state. The SIR coincides with the monsoon when deprived sections are busy with the annual tedium of locating temporary homes to escape flooding. They possess Aadhaar and ration cards, but either they may not be available at their homes when the Commission’s enumerators arrive, or they may not have the documents the Commission demands as proof of citizenship. The illiterate and poor majority cannot quickly acquire domicile or caste certificates and submit the filled forms before the deadline. In case of delayed submissions, SIR rules say “the name of the elector cannot be included in the draft rolls”. The ECI subsequently said electors must submit enrolment forms in time and their accompanying documents can come in at scrutiny time also; that only defers the suspense.
Are alternative mechanisms, such as witness testimony or affidavits, in place if a citizen can’t provide documents or meet the deadline? In an abrupt, short exercise foisted on them, rigid systems and procedural obstacles cannot arbitrarily deny the right to vote. The State must play a facilitative role to enable the right. The default presumption must be of inclusion. In the long term, we must debate making the right to vote a fundamental right so that electors can seek direct judicial redressal, and disenfranchisement necessarily passes the test of reasonableness and proportionality, ensuring that it is never arbitrary or excessive. Democracy celebrates elections, more so, their participatory nature.