Latest news with #BiharAssemblyElection
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Bihar voter list revision: 5 key flashpoints between EC, Opposition; how poll body has responded so far
The Supreme Court is set to hear on Thursday, July 10, a bunch of petitions challenging the Election Commission's "Special Intensive Revision" of Electoral Rolls in Bihar. The Election Commission had issued instructions on June 24 to carry out a Special Intensive Revision in Bihar to weed out ineligible names and ensure all eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll. The EC's direction, which came just months ahead of the Bihar Assembly Election, sparked controversy. Several activists and the Opposition objected to the provision that required large sections of Bihar voters to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls. RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam filed petitions challenging the ECI decision This is just the latest among the challenges that the Election Commission faces since the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections. In 2024, the Opposition levelled a slew of allegations against the poll body, saying the elections in these states were "rigged". Here's a list of key allegations against the Election Commission and how the poll body has reacted to them so far: The Opposition parties have maintained that the exercise could deprive genuine voters of their right to benefit the ruling parties in Bihar. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which is one the of petitioners in the matter, said the EC's June 24 order asks one category of citizens to submit proof of date of birth and place of birth. "For another category, it asks for proof of date of birth/place of birth of self and one of the parents. For another category, proof of date of birth and place of birth for both parents is required," Jagdeep Chhokar, co-founder of the election watchdog, the ADR, explained. "So this is a change in the criteria for eligibility of a voter. This is illegal when done by the Election Commission," he said, while explaining why this revision is "illegal and impractical". Full interview here EC's response: In a statement, the poll panel said the revision of electoral rolls is must as it is a dynamic list which keeps changing due to deaths, shifting of people due to migration and addition of new voters who have turned 18. The Election Commission officials further addressed the issue of duplicate voter cards numbers — same card numbers erroneously issued to two different persons. They told news agency PTI that the issue of many persons enrolling in different places by giving different unmatching details to procure more than one electoral photo identity card can only be resolved through SIR. It is practically impossible to detect such cases through software tools. Questioning the Maharashtra Assembly elections results, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged irregularities in the state's voter list -- "large-scale additions and deletions of voters." In February, Rahul Gandhi alleged that after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (which the INDIA bloc won in June), almost 70 lakh new voters "suddenly arrived in Maharashtra ahead of the Vidhan Sabha polls [Assembly polls in He later claimed that, 'Between the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 32 lakh voters were added to Maharashtra's electoral rolls over five years.' "However, between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2024 Vidhan Sabha elections, 39 lakh new voters were added in just five months,' Rahul Gandhi said. Election Commission's response: The ECI said that there were no arbitrary additions or deletions in Maharashtra. The Opposition also raised questions on the "gap" in voter turnout between the end of polling hours (5 pm), the end of polling day and the final turnout. EC's response: The Election Commission said it was incorrect to compare the figures directly. In a letter to the Congress, the ECI explained how an increase in voter turnout from 5 pm to 11:45 pm is normal as part of the process of aggregation of voter turnout and how there can be fide but inconsequential differences in "votes polled" and "Votes Counted" data. During a court hearing, the ECI had argued that the real-time voter turnout figures given by the Voter Turnout App are tentative because it is being updated on a real-time basis. "So any mismatch with the App Data and Form 17C data is not material," the EC's counsel had said. Read more here Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had questioned the 'unexplained slowdown in updating of results of Haryana Assembly Elections 2024' on the EC website. EC's response: The poll body said there was nothing on record to substantiate the Congress leader's "ill-founded allegation" of a slowdown in the updation of Haryana poll results. The Election Commission found itself in the broil after the Opposition raised doubts over the absolute mismatch between the exit poll results and the official election results --which had triggered a political upheaval in Haryana. In Haryana Assembly elections 2024, most of the exit polls had forecast a clear win for the Congress. On the result day, early trends showed the Congress leading in the Haryana polls. However, a major turnaround declared the BJP as the winner of the state polls. EC's response: In October 2024, the then Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar slammed early election trends on the vote-counting day as "nonsense." He said the Election Commission follows a process of counting and declaring results. The CEC said it's impossible to reveal results around 8:05 am when actual counting starts at 8:30 am. He said the EC usually updates its website with official results around 9:30 am on a regular counting day.
The Wire
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
EC's Directive to Update Voter Lists in Bihar Risks Mass Exclusion. Here's Why
Pavan Korada 2 minutes ago By focusing on documents like the 10th-grade matriculation certificate as proof, the ECI risks penalising people for the very poverty and lack of education they have long endured. A voter gives his thumb impression at a polling booth before casting his vote for the first phase of Bihar Assembly Election, amid the coronavirus pandemic, at Chenari police station in Rohtas district, Wednesday, October 28, 2020. Photo: PTI New Delhi: A new directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to update voter lists in the state of Bihar has raised fears of mass exclusion. The move requires crores of voters to prove their eligibility, but analysis suggests the required documents are often unavailable to the state's poorest and most marginalised communities. According to research by analyst Rahul Shastri, the rule effectively demands that 4.74 crore people – nearly 60% of Bihar's electorate – prove their eligibility. The main problem lies with the type of proof required. By focusing on documents like the 10th-grade matriculation certificate, the ECI risks penalising people for the very poverty and lack of education they have long endured. An analysis of government data reveals a threefold problem based on geography, demography, and the state's own administrative history. Table: Document Availability for Bihar's Adult Population The data is clear. With the most common documents like Aadhaar and Ration Cards not on the list, the burden of proof falls on scarce certificates. Geography of exclusion The focus on the matriculation certificate creates the first problem. Shastri's analysis estimates that between 2.4 and 2.6 crore people in the 18-40 age group may not have this document. Official literacy and poverty data show this burden will fall most heavily on a distinct belt of deprived districts. Female literacy rates are a strong indicator of these vulnerable areas. The 2011 census recorded Bihar's female literacy at just over 53%, a full 20 percentage points behind the male rate. The districts with the lowest overall literacy in 2011 are a map of this vulnerability: Purnia (52.5%), Sitamarhi (53.5%) and Katihar (53.6%). These areas of educational deprivation align almost perfectly with the map of multidimensional poverty shown above. Chart: Lowest Literacy Districts Impact on caste and religion The data shows the rule is not just geographic in its impact, but also demographic. It is most likely to affect Bihar's historically marginalised social groups: Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and the state's large Muslim minority. Chart: Poverty by Social Group The 2022 Bihar Caste Survey shows the educational gap. While nearly 14% of the General category population are graduates, the figure falls to just under 8% for EBCs and below 6% for SCs. The Muslim population's graduation rate is also a low 7.6%. Chart: Graduation Gap by Social Group Chart: Pregnancy Registration by Religion Lack of birth certificates For the many without a school certificate, the birth certificate is the only other option. In reality, it is a rare document in Bihar. The NFHS-5 (2019-21) found that only 56% of children under five have a birth certificate, and only 75% of births were even registered. This raises a critical question: if the state fails to register a majority of births today, how can it expect older citizens to produce documents that were often unavailable to them in the past? So, the ECI's verification drive in Bihar is based on a set of documents that a large part of the population does not possess. Analysis shows this creates a clear pattern of exclusion, affecting the state's poorest districts, its marginalised castes, and its Muslim minority. Critics and analysts argue that without expanding the list of accepted documents to include widely-held IDs like Aadhaar and ration cards, the exercise risks preventing crores of eligible citizens from voting. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Mint
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Bihar Election 2025: AAP to contest solo; Arvind Kejriwal says BJP sent Congress to defeat us
Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday the party will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election alone, without the support of the Congress or the INDIA bloc allies. 'INDIA bloc was only for Lok Sabha polls. There's no alliance with the Congress now. If there was an alliance then why did Congress contest in Visavadar bypolls. They came to defeat us. The BJP sent Congress to defeat us and cut the votes,' Kejriwal said. In the recently-held bypolls, AAP candidate Gopal Italia won from Visavadar seat, Junagadh district in Gujarat. Italia, former party state president, won by a margin of 17,581 votes against BJP's Kirit Patel, with Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya in third place. The AAP and the Congress had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha Election in an alliance. However, at state-level, the two parties have refrained from contesting the polls together. The AAP and the Congress had contested the Delhi and Haryana Assembly elections independently. The Bihar Assembly Election are likley to take place in October-November this year. The NDA, which consists of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will be once again looking forward to returning to power. In contrast, the INDIA Bloc will be giving competition to the incumbent Nitish Kumar government. In a significant political development in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls, former Union Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has merged his political outfit, Aap Sabki Awaz (ASA), with the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor. Meanwhile, former BJP MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh has been elected as the national president of the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party. Besides, the Election Commission also announced Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar which aims to verify the eligibility of voters and ensure accurate electoral rolls ahead of the assembly elections expected to be held later this year. The opposition parties raised alarm over the exercise, claiming that it will be used to disenfranchise voters. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the poll body will "destroy" the country's democracy. Ramesh, who is also Congress' General Secretary in charge of Communications, drew a parallel between the demonetisation in 2016 and SIR by the Election Commission, stating that the PM's 'notebandi' destroyed our economy and the ECI's 'VOTE-Bandi', as reflected in the SIR, will destroy our democracy. The Bihar assembly elections are scheduled to take place at the end of this year, with the SIR exercise notified on June 24.
NDTV
02-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
2 Or 3 Phases, Space For Diwali And Chhath: Sources On Bihar Election Dates
New Delhi: The 2025 Bihar Assembly Election may be held over two or three phases, Election Commission sources told NDTV Monday. The schedule will be decided keeping Diwali and Chhath Puja in mind, the sources also said. Diwali this year will be on October 20 and Chhath on October 28. The Bihar Assembly term ends on November 22, so the election process (including counting and declaration of results) must be finished before that. Sources said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will visit the state sometime this month to oversee preparations. Meanwhile, the poll panel is training to BLO, or booth level operators to ensure a fair election, and avoid allegations related to voter lists like those made by the Congress and other opposition parties after the 2024 Maharashtra and Haryana elections and the Delhi election in February. The Bharatiya Janata Party romped to victories in all three. In Delhi it thumped the Aam Aadmi Party to claim power in the national capital for the first time in nearly three decades, and in Haryana it overcame a strong start by the Congress to retain power for a third consecutive term in the heartland state. In Maharashtra voter list fraud was alleged after the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to perform like in the Lok Sabha election a few months earlier. The Election Commission had strongly refused all such claims. And now, as part of a renewed effort to counter such allegations, the poll panel will provide all BLOs with identity cards, sources said. This will allow them to go door-to-door for verification. Also, a campaign will be held to update the voter list, so people turning 18 can be added. This will also, sources said, eliminate the problem of duplicate voter ID numbers. The Election Commission is also prepared to deal with challenges posed by AI, sources said. 2020 Bihar Election The 2020 Bihar election was held in three phases; voting was on October 28, November 3, and November 7, with results announced on November 10. The result was an overwhelming victory for the BJP and Janata Dal (United)-led alliance, but there was much drama that followed. JDU boss and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lived up to his ' paltu Kumar' sobriquet in just two years later, in August 2022, declaring "I would rather die than go with the BJP (anymore)". He re-aligned with Tejashwi Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but then flipped again. Amid confusion and controversy, in January 2024 he dumped the RJD and returned to the BJP's side. The 2025 election will be keenly watched, as much for what Nitish Kumar does next as for the BJP building up steam ahead of a critical round of state polls next year, when Bengal and Assam will vote. Both polls will likely be dominated by fierce debates over issues like immigration. In 2026 Tamil Nadu and Kerala will also vote. Both states have historically rejected the BJP and its brand of muscular nationalism, with the former giving the DMK and Congress alliance big wins in the past three major polls - the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections.
