EC clarifies ‘no change in instructions' for Bihar electoral roll revision; says first phase of SIR completed
Further, the EC asserted that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was "being implemented smoothly at the ground level" and "there is no change in instructions".
The EC on June 24 issued instructions to carry out an SIR in Bihar, apparently to weed out ineligible names and ensure only eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll.
In a statement here, the EC made it clear that while voters were required to "submit their documents anytime before July 25, 2025", those who failed to do so would get an opportunity "during the Claims & Objections period also".
The EC also urged people to "beware of statements being made by a few persons, who without reading the SIR order dated 24 June 2025.... are attempting to confuse the public with their incorrect and misleading statements".
According to the EC, the exercise was necessitated by rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants. The poll panel said that with the exercise, it wants to ensure the integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
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In Bihar, Election Commission once deepened democracy. It's current ‘revision' does the opposite
The Election Commission of India needs to pause and ask itself an urgent question: Why is the exercise it has initiated in Bihar changing the subject in the poll-bound state — from the excitements of who the people will vote for, to anxieties about whether or not all voters will be allowed to cast their vote, which is their fundamental right? On paper, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that the EC has launched since June 28, seems unexceptionable. After all, Article 324 of the Constitution empowers the EC to oversee elections and Article 326 directs that the franchise be limited to adult Indian citizens. The updating of electoral rolls is supported by the Registration of Electors Rules 1960 and Representation of the People Act 1950. The last SIR was done in 2003 and there have been annual summary revisions in several states since. The EC has cited the reasons why — migration, need to weed out names of foreign illegal immigrants, to include newly eligible voters, delete names of the dead. And yet, the ongoing exercise takes place in circumstances that have stoked widespread insecurities. For one, it has been announced barely four months before an election, which makes the timelines enormously challenging administratively, and in fact impossible to meet — almost 3 crore voters in nearly 30 days, with only about 3 per cent of the forms uploaded on the EC website till end of last week — in a state which is flood prone, has a high migration rate, and where large sections do not have either the awareness or the wherewithal. Additional documentation has been asked from those whose names are not recorded in the 2003 electoral rolls — they need to submit at least one of 11 documents to establish their eligibility —shifting the burden of proof to the voter. As an ongoing series of ground reports in this newspaper reveals, this has triggered a scramble for documents that many voters don't have, and don't know how to procure, and raised fears of an 'NRC through the backdoor'. It has created conditions where vulnerable sections, including the poor, migrant labourers, SCs, STs, Muslims, elderly and women face the imminent spectre of disenfranchisement. The EC's latest advertisement, which has been read by some as saying that enumeration forms can be submitted first and documents later, has only added to the uncertainty. Against this backdrop, the EC must lose no time in going back to the drawing board. It must look again at some of the available data on Bihar — where in 2007, the year those who have become eligible to vote in this election were born, only one-fourth of the estimated births were registered; where according to 2022 estimates, only 14.71 per cent graduated from class 10; where total number of valid passports issued till 2023 was barely 2 per cent. The EC must also remind itself of its own stellar record: Bihar was among the states that benefited most from the electoral reforms that the Commission initiated in the 1990s and built upon subsequently. In this state of backwardness and inequalities, the rigorous supervision of free and fair polls — moving the polling booth to Dalit neighbourhoods, for example —has meant a heartening deepening of democracy. The EC must immediately shift the exercise of revision of electoral rolls to a later time, after this election is done, and allow space for feedback, public awareness campaigns, consultation with all parties. At stake is the people's trust, and its institutional credibility. At stake, most of all, is the sanctity of every citizen's constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to vote. For, on refreshed poll lists, Bihar will show the way for the nation.
Hans India
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3 ex CJIs back simultaneous polls
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Indian Express
an hour ago
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Bihar electoral revision: Not just EBCs, minorities, disquiet among upper castes as well
Dominated by upper-caste households, Saurath village of Madhubani in Bihar is known across the region for its annual 'sabha' when Brahmin men of 'marriageable age' get dressed as grooms and await a 'wedding offer'. These days, however, the wait in Saurath is for something else. 'Out of 2,200 domicile applications submitted from our panchayat alone, only 150 certificates have been issued so far,' says Vibhakar Jha, son of Saurath panchayat mukhiya Kamini Devi. It is not just the poor and marginalised but, in a state where caste divisions run deep, there is disquiet among upper caste voters as well about the additional documents required to register as a voter under Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. '(A domicile certificate is) one of the easiest documents to obtain from the Election Commission's list of 11. There is a large number of upper caste people in the queue here… this unnecessary revision is hurting everyone,' says Jha. 'Don't harass us in the name of documents,' says Chinta Devi, another resident of Saurath. It's a refrain heard across villages in the region where upper castes are in a majority — this segment constitutes over 15 per cent of the state's population, including 4.5 per cent from the Muslim sub-groups of Sheikh, Saiyad, Mughal and Pathan. The sense of unease echoes the despair among voters in the margins, from Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) to minorities, as The Indian Express reported in its ongoing series on the Special Intensive Revision — from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's turf in Nalanda and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's Raghopur in Vaishali to Muslim-dominated Seemanchal. Among Hindus, the upper caste numbers in Bihar include Brahmins (3.65 per cent), Rajputs (3.45 per cent), Bhumihars (2.8 per cent) and Kayasthas (0.89 per cent). Largely viewed as an NDA votebank, this social group, which lost its political hegemony in the 1990s, also supports the RJD and Congress. This group is spread across the state, with significant numbers in Aurangabad, Rohtas, Bhojpur, Saran, Banka, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Patna. The Indian Express spoke to several BLOs (Booth Level Officers) in these areas — a common estimate was that 'about 30 per cent' upper-caste voters have applied for domicile certificates under their jurisdiction. Local authorities of Saurath panchayat under Rahika block, which has a dominant Brahmin population, say their problem is two-pronged: how to handle 'over 3,000-4,000' domicile applications being submitted daily since last week and how to get over 40 per cent of the local population that migrated back home to update and submit their electoral forms. Take the case of Navtoli Magrauni (Ward number 7), under the Madhubani Nagar panchayat, just 7 km from Saurath. 'Our small settlement of mostly Brahmins has about 400 voters but 50 per cent of them have been living outside Bihar. Four members of my own family live in Delhi. Now does that mean that 200 people could lose their votes if they are not present during the electoral revision?' asks Satish Chandra Mishra, the husband of former Magrauni mukhiya Rekha Mishra. Says Mishra's neighbour Rajkishore Jha: 'Earning our daily bread is more important than voting. People have migrated from Bihar as the state cannot provide jobs… This SIR has given a bonanza for photostat and cafe owners. It hurts everyone, upper castes are as much the sufferers as the others.' Former Bihar Congress state secretary and senior Madhubani leader Krishnakant Jha Guddu says the 'SIR exercise has muddled the entire tempo' of the upcoming state polls. 'The NDA looks to have committed political harakiri. Supporters of all political parties are unhappy with the voter list revision. We get at least 50 complaints daily, from BLOs not cooperating with applicants to low disbursal of domicile certificates,' he says. Says Ranjeet Nirguni, a BJP leader in the Bhumihar-dominated Sarairanjan area of Samastipur: 'As a public representative, I get the maximum number of complaints about domicile certificates. I am also hearing complaints of BLOs leaving behind enumeration forms in homes that are shut to show that they are on the job.' Priti Aman, the wife of a local entrepreneur from Gangsara village in Sarairanjan, has 'just applied for domicile'. 'I hope I get it fast,' she says. In Rajout village of Ramchua in Banka, homemaker Shilpi Kumari (24) says she has 'only Aadhaar and ration cards'. 'I voted in 2020 (Assembly elections) and 2024 (Lok Sabha polls). I want to vote again this year (in the state polls). The BLO has been asking me to get a domicile certificate for my form to be uploaded,' she said. Given the uncertainty, getting the much-needed certificate is a cause for celebration. Says Poonam Kumari, a homemaker and cancer survivor from Madhubani: 'It is such a relief to get my domicile certificate. I believe in the beauty of the electoral process. I remain a voter. Thank God!'
