Bengal asked to give up control over state Election Commission, make it independent
Currently, the CEO's office is under the state's Home Department. If it becomes independent, the CEO's office will no longer be dependent on the state financially and in terms of appointment of election personnel.The development assumes even greater significance against the backdrop of the ongoing political showdown between the Centre and INDIA bloc parties and states ruled by them over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, months ahead of state elections.This comes a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that SIR would not be allowed to be implemented in Bengal. She even said that if needed, the Election Commission would be gheraoed.The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief made the announcement at the Martyr's Day rally on Monday. The Trinamool is running a campaign against the Election Commission's SIR exercise and is constantly opposing it.CENTRE VS OPPOSITION OVER BIHAR SIRThe Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar remains a flashpoint between the Election Commission of India and the Opposition.While the poll body assured the Supreme Court that the citizenship of a person would not be cancelled if he or she is found ineligible for registration in the roll revision, Opposition leaders raised strong objections, alleging that the revision could be misused to omit the names of minority, Dalit and Opposition-leaning voters ahead of the key assembly polls.The Trinamool Congress, along with the RJD, claimed the drive could lead to mass deletions of voters from marginalised communities, especially in rural and minority-dominated regions.In response, the central government said that the SIR is a routine process and follows the guidelines set by the Election Commission.- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#West Bengal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
6.5 mn Bihar voters marked for deletion; Oppn claims 20 mn are at risk
EC asks electors to file objections until September 1 New Delhi Listen to This Article As many as 6.5 million electors — or 8.31 per cent of Bihar's 78.9 million registered voters — stand to lose their franchise in the Assembly elections, scheduled for October-November this year, according to final data from a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll released on Sunday evening by the Election Commission of India (EC). The Opposition is expected to continue challenging the legality and intent of the SIR, which it claims will disenfranchise millions from marginalised communities. The matter is being contested in Parliament, on the ground in Bihar, and in the Supreme Court, where a
The Hindu
24 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Bihar SIR: 91.69% have submitted enumeration forms, says Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday (July 27, 2025) said 91.69% of electors registered in the 2025 voter list in Bihar had submitted enumeration forms as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and these voters will be included in the draft list to be published on August 1. Of the 7.89 crore registered electors as on June 24, over 7.24 crore had submitted enumeration forms indicating overwhelming participation, the poll body said in a statement. This, in effect, means the names of 65 lakh voters registered in the July 2025 list would not make it to the August 1 draft rolls. In the 10-point statement, the ECI listed the various aims of the SIR, such as the inclusion of every eligible voter, participation of all political parties, inclusion of young and urban voters, and scrutiny of draft rolls and redressal of all grievances during the claims and objections period. It said the names of voters who were not found include around 2.83% (22 lakh) deceased, 4.59% (36 lakh) who had permanently shifted or were not found, and 0.89% or 7 lakh who were enrolled at multiple places. The exact status of these electors will be known after scrutiny of forms by the Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officers by August 1. However, genuine electors can still be added back in the electoral rolls during the Claims and Objections period from August 1 to September 1. The names of the electors found enrolled at multiple places will be retained only at one place, the ECI said. The poll body said young electors who have attained 18 years of age on July 1, 2025, or would be attaining 18 years on or before October 1, 2025 are being encouraged to file their application in Form 6, along with the prescribed Declaration Form. Also Read: Decoding ECI's counter affidavit on SIR | Explained The commission said it would conduct special campaigns across Bihar from August 1 to September 1 to enrol such young electors, so that all eligible electors can be enrolled and no one is left out. It said that SMSs explaining the SIR process were sent to 5.7 crore registered mobile numbers of all those electors who had registered their mobile numbers. During the enumeration period, the Chief Electoral Officer, District Election Officers and EROs conducted numerous campaigns for spreading awareness among electors about the SIR and also conducted several meetings with political parties to explain the process, and to keep them apprised of the progress of SIR. As per the SIR order, from August 1 to September 1, any elector or political party may fill the prescribed forms and submit claims to the ERO for any eligible elector who is left out or file objections for removal of any ineligible elector. The SIR order on June 24 had said that the exercise would be carried out across the country, beginning with Bihar. The contentious exercise has been challenged in the Supreme Court, with the hearing scheduled on July 28. Opposition parties have branded it as 'NRC through backdoor'. A senior ECI official asked why a big issue is being made out of the exercise when there was a full one month, from August 1 to September 1, available to point out wrongful inclusion or exclusion of names. 'Why are they creating such a big fuss now? Why not ask their 1.6 lakh BLAs to submit claims and objections from August till September 1?' the official asked. The ECI said the credit for the 'successful completion' of the first phase of SIR also goes to the Bihar CEO, 38 DEOs, 243 EROs, 2,976 AEROs, and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deployed at 77,895 polling booths, lakhs of volunteers and full involvement of the field representatives of all the 12 major parties and as many as 1.60 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by them. In a bid to ensure that no eligible voter is left behind, the ECI said CEO, DEOs and EROs held several meetings with parties to explain the SIR process. The BLOs also held booth-level meetings with BLAs. The BLOs went house to house to each elector whose name was in the electoral rolls to distribute enumeration forms. They also made at least three visits to collect the filled enumeration forms. Special efforts were also made to ensure that no temporary migrant is left behind. Full page advertisements in Hindi were published in 246 newspapers with a circulation of around 2.60 crore while the Bihar CEO wrote to all States and Union Territories to requesting them to make special efforts to reach out to temporarily migrated people. Around 16 lakh migrant workers filled their enumeration forms online while another 13 lakh had downloaded the forms. To ensure that no urban elector is left behind, special camps were set up in all 5,683 wards of all 261 urban local bodies. The ECI also shared with the political parties booth-level lists of electors who were reported as deceased electors, or whose enumeration forms were not received, or who were reported to be permanently migrated or could not be traced an with the objective of requesting them to inquire about such electors in a focused manner. 'Subsequently, after noticing the efforts of the political parties, such updated lists were again shared with the representatives of political parties,' it said. With an aim to ensure that there is no deletion and aggrieved electors are helped in filing appeals, the ECI is also training volunteers to help people file appeals against decisions of EROs. A standard format for filing appeals is also being devised and will be widely circulated to allow people to file appeals easily, it said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
INDIA bloc to protest Bihar voter list revision at Parliament tomorrow
Leaders of the INDIA bloc will stage a protest at Parliament's Makar Dwar on Monday at 10.30 am against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. On July 25, several opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha submitted Suspension of Business notices, demanding a discussion on the SIR issue during the ongoing Monsoon Session. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Project Management Others CXO others Finance Product Management healthcare Healthcare Design Thinking Leadership Digital Marketing Cybersecurity Data Analytics Public Policy Technology Data Science PGDM Data Science MCA Artificial Intelligence Management Operations Management Degree MBA Skills you'll gain: Project Planning & Governance Agile Software Development Practices Project Management Tools & Software Techniques Scrum Framework Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Programme in IT Project Management Starts on Jun 20, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Portfolio Management Project Planning & Risk Analysis Strategic Project/Portfolio Selection Adaptive & Agile Project Management Duration: 6 Months IIT Delhi Certificate Programme in Project Management Starts on May 30, 2024 Get Details Lok Sabha on Monday is set to discuss key legislations, including a high-stakes special discussion on 'Operation Sindoor' India's military response to the Pahalgham terror attack. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like War Thunder - Register now for free and play against over 75 Million real Players War Thunder Play Now Undo After an opening week marked with adjournments, the lower house of Parliament is set to discuss the country's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor as per the list of business notice issued by Lok Sabha. The first week of the Monsoon session of Parliament witnessed major disruptions with the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President. Live Events Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to initiate the discussion on Operation Sindhoor in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Sources said that Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and BJP MPs Anurag Thakur and Nishikant Dubey are also expected to take part in the discussion in Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to intervene in the discussion in the Lok Sabha. He may also intervene in the discussion in the Rajya Sabha. Sources said discussion on Operation Sindoor will begin in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar will be among ministers who will take part in the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, sources Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and GM Harish Balayogi are expected to participate in the discussion on Op Sindoor in the Lok Sabha. The sources said the party has been allotted 30 minutes. From the Samajwadi Party, its chief Akhilesh Yadav, and MP Rajiv Rai will participate in the debate. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that the debate on Operation Sindoor will be held for 16 hours in the Lok Sabha on July 28 and for 16 hours in the Rajya Sabha on July 29. "All issues cannot be discussed together... The opposition has raised several issues, like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and others. We have told them that Operation Sindoor will be discussed first. We will decide which issues to discuss after that. Operation Sindoor will be debated for 16 hours in the Lok Sabha on Monday (July 28) and for 16 hours in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (July 29)," Rijiju told reporters. Opposition parties have been demanding a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor and have sought the government's clarification over US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The Opposition parties had been demanding PM Modi's presence during the debate. Since PM Modi travelled abroad on a two-nation visit this week, the discussion has been scheduled for next week. The first week of the Monsoon Parliament session witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments. Several opposition parliamentarians submitted adjournment motions and suspension of business notices in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Sunday that out of 7.89 crore registered voters in Bihar, over 7.24 crore electors have submitted their enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) held from June 24 to July 25, reflecting a 91.69 per cent participation rate. The Commission described the SIR as a "massive and successful citizen participation effort" across the state, aimed at enhancing the accuracy of the electoral rolls ahead of upcoming assembly elections. According to the official press note released by the ECI, the enumeration exercise was launched to verify and update voter records across all 38 districts of Bihar. The ECI said, "The first aim of SIR was participation of all electors and all political parties," adding that the role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Booth Level Agents (BLAs), volunteers, and political party workers contributed significantly to the process. According to the ECI, the number of Booth Level Agents rose by over 16 per cent, with major increases seen in the CPI(M) (1083%), Congress (105%), and CPI(ML) (542%). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saw a 3 per cent increase, while RJD and JD(U) reported modest increases in their BLA counts. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visited each registered elector's residence, distributing and collecting forms in at least three rounds. Additional efforts targeted urban voters, young first-time voters, and temporary migrants from Bihar. To reach migrants, a full-page Hindi advertisement was issued in 246 newspapers, and the CEO of Bihar wrote to all States and UTs, asking them to assist migrants from Bihar in completing their enumeration forms. The ECI revealed that nearly 29 lakh forms were filled online or downloaded, with over 16 lakh submissions made digitally. The Commission stated that the Draft Electoral Roll will be published on August 1, and electors or political parties will have until September 1, 2025, to file claims and objections. EROs and AEROs have been deployed across Bihar to oversee the scrutiny process. The ECI also clarified that names in the electoral rolls will not be deleted without a proper notice and written order by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), as per SIR guidelines. Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has also revealed that approximately 35 lakh electors are either untraced or have permanently migrated from their registered addresses.
