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The Hindu
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihar Voter List 2025: Who's Being Left Off and Why?
Published : Jul 23, 2025 06:36 IST - 12 MINS READ 'Sab sang basiye, sab sang rasiye, sabka lijiye naam, haanji, haanji kahte rahiye, aaithiye apna thaam '(Live and celebrate among all, take everyone's name, keep saying yes, but stay in your place). This couplet quoted by Kranti Devi of the Mahadalit locality of Gehlore village in Gaya district sums up the political mood in election-bound Bihar where a debate is raging over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India's (ECI) flip-flops on the verification exercise—from initially insisting on at least 1 of 11 listed documents to later saying that even those without any documents could apply and furnish them later—have only fuelled the opposition's protest campaigns, which included a march to the ECI's office and a Bihar-wide bandh. The exasperation of the villagers was evident in Gaya, Jehanabad, and Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituencies of the Magadh region, which is a crucible of Bihar's caste politics. Whether Mahkar, the village where Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi hails from, or Gehlore, the village of the late 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi, or Matua and Mishribigha in Gurua block, the common refrain was this: 'If Aadhaar is not valid, then what else is? None of us have even 1 of the 11 documents initially demanded by the Election Commission.' Further compounding the issue, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are reportedly providing only one copy of the SIR form and not issuing receipts upon submission. This leaves ordinary voters without any proof of submission, a critical vulnerability if their names are later disputed. Or deleted. Also Read | Out of State, out of rolls? Much water has flowed down the Ganges since the ECI wrote the 19-page letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar about July 1 being the qualifying date for the SIR. While the two-page enumeration form to be filled in is very much the same, there have been conflicting instructions about another two-page declaration form, which includes an 'indicative' list of 11 documents that can be submitted in support of the declaration. These 11 documents are passport, matriculation/educational certificate, Permanent Residence Certificate issued by the competent State authority, Forest Rights Certificate, SC/ST certificate, National Register of Citizens (or NRC, wherever it exists), Family Register, pension payment order issued to any regular government employee or pensioner, any certificate issued by local authorities, banks, post offices, etc. prior to July 1, 1987, birth certificate, and any land/house allotment certificate issued by the government. Aadhaar, ration cards, voter identity cards issued by the ECI (the Elector Photo Identity Card, or EPIC), and PAN cards—all the otherwise most valued papers for an Indian—are not among the 11 documents. EC flip-flops increase confusion As it soon became evident that the majority of voters had only Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter ID cards and as the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the Chief Electoral Officer of the State issued front-page advertisements in Patna newspapers on July 6 urging voters to submit their SIR forms even if they did not have the requisite supporting documents. But the ECI later declared that there was no change in its June 24 order, and asked those who had not submitted documents to do so by July 25. On July 10, days after INDIA bloc leaders met Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer and demanded the inclusion of Aadhaar, ration cards, and MGNREGA job cards in the list of documents to be submitted with the enumeration form, the Supreme Court also asked the ECI to consider Aadhaar card, EPIC, and ration card as proof for voter registration—'in the interest of justice'. On July 15, the State's Chief Electoral Officer issued another front-page advertisement in Delhi newspapers asking Bihar's migrant voters to submit enumeration forms online through mobile phones. For good measure, the advertisement added: 'If you make available the required documents, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will find it easier to process the application. If you cannot provide the required documents, the decision will have to be taken through local investigation by the ERO or on the basis of evidence of other documents.' Meanwhile, the message that has percolated down to the villages is that there is no need to submit the documents along with the enumeration form for inclusion in the voter list. Arvind Kumar Paswan from Mishri Bigha, Ramashish Kumar from Matua, and Nagendra Yadav from Bhaluhar village in Gurua block of the Aurangabad parliamentary seat told Frontline that they had not submitted any documents with their forms because 'there is no demand for any of them now'. That Aadhaar, in particular, is not among the supporting documents has led to major consternation. This writer came across a number of voters who said they were submitting their Aadhaar with the SIR forms because that was the only document they could produce to prove their identity. Often, Aadhaar is also the document cited as proof of date of birth. Many of the villagers pointed out that documents such as SC/ST certificate, Forest Rights Certificate, and Permanent Resident Certificate (or domicile certificates) do not display the date or place of birth. In fact, the domicile certificate is issued only on the basis of Aadhaar cards in most cases. As for the NRC and Family Register, these do not exist in Bihar. Sintoo Kumar, a taxi operator from Darachak village in Kujap of Gaya district, said most of the 300-odd residents of his village had filled in their enumeration forms with just a photograph and Aadhaar number while those with a formal education (like himself) had submitted copies of matriculation certificates. He said: 'Nobody is asking for any document now. But the process was painful a while ago. If they insist on these documents, many people will lose their voting rights. We are Yadavs, we vote for the RJD [Rashtriya Janata Dal]. This voter list issue is not going to affect anyone's support pattern. People will vote for the parties they voted for earlier.' Manoj Sharma, a carpenter from Ahiyapur village in Gaya district, said he filled in his voter enumeration form with Aadhaar although his wife had gone to her parents' home to 'get some documents'. Residents of Jitan Ram Manjhi's village, Mahkar, said that nobody there had any of the 11 documents. 'Who will have a passport here? May be mantriji has one,' one of them said. Speaking in Magahi, his mother tongue, the 56-year-old Ramanuj Sharma said: 'We do not have any of those documents. Are we so active?' The only English word he used was 'active'. He was trying to say that the village way of life did not provide any scope to acquire documents like passports. Arvind Kumar, whose wife Manju Devi is a BLO, said: 'Now villagers are filling in the enumeration forms without submitting any documents. The few educated ones are filling their forms themselves. We are helping the rest.' Most villagers in Mahkar have submitted their forms to the BLO with only their signatures on it, and even the signature is missing in some cases. Another significant hurdle is the unreliable Internet connectivity in rural Bihar. 'Internet network is available in these villages from 1 am to 3 am. If we wake up at that late hour to upload the forms, who will work in the fields?' a young man from the village asked this writer. In many villages, one BLO is required to upload 1,100 or 1,200 forms. Now, BLOs have been told they can return to the block office to upload the forms. 'Such an exercise requires much more time for proper execution than what has been allowed—it needs at least three months. The BLO has not even been given the 2003 voter list so far,' said another young villager. 'People have Aadhaar, ration card and some even have PAN. Caste certificates and domicile certificates are procured by a few but only when the need arises. Most villagers don't have these. Why aren't they accepting Aadhaar?' asked Subodh from Makhdumpur Sapneri tola in Hathiyama panchayat of Khijarsarai district. In Saidpur Bhuian tola, the BLO was a bit guarded but admitted that 'now we are not seeking any document'. Rabari Kumari, a resident of Saidpur village, said: 'Earlier I was asked to provide my mother's voter card. Later, the BLO said there was no need for documents. I have just signed the form and given it to him.' Balchanda Manjhi and Nanhe Yadav from the village said that they had only given their Aadhaar number in the form. Tarkeshwar Paswan said that he did not submit any document with his form. None of them was aware that a document would eventually be demanded on the date announced. In Gehlore village, the SIR exercise is proceeding at snail's pace. A poignant wave of defiance ripples through the crowd when the villagers are told their names could be struck off the voter list if they did not submit documents. Naresh Yadav, 65, said he had never seen an election like this one, but Ram Swaroop Manjhi, the caretaker priest at the samadhi of Dashrath Manjhi, and Maheshwar Paswan said they were asked only for their Aadhaar cards. Kirish Manjhi, hardly out of his teens, said he and many others from the village work in brick kilns and factories in Varanasi, Allahabad (Prayagraj), Ghaziabad, and Chennai. Most return home at this time of the year, before the sowing season starts. 'We have returned as the rains have come. We will go back only after casting our vote. Most of us working outside have Aadhaar and voter card with our village address. There is no question of not voting,' said Vikas Ravidas, who works in a hotel in Chennai. Shivratan Ram from Sondhra village in Gehlore panchayat area echoed him: 'I will definitely cast my vote.' Different anxieties Literacy is low in villages in the foothills, like Khajuri, and people struggle with basic issues of livelihood. Exercises such as this one do not make much sense to them. In the posh Muslim-dominated locality called White House Compound, the concern was at another level. Speaking to Frontline, one resident said that as soon as the ECI issued a press note on June 24 announcing the SIR, an office-bearer of the White House Mosque Committee hurriedly downloaded the 2003 voter list and circulated it among the local residents via WhatsApp. Abdul Qadir, an academic, explained why Muslims were anxious: 'There is an underlying fear that the exercise will not stop at just deletions from the voter list. What if this becomes a tool for selective harassment? Why reject Aadhaar, a document on which it is written 'Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan' [My Aadhaar is my identity]. Although SIR forms are now being accepted without any of the 11 documents specified earlier, a lot of discretionary power being given to a low-ranked officials, such as Electoral Registration Officers, raises concerns about possible malpractice. It is dangerous. When forms are uploaded without documents, EROs can decide to delete names from voters list selectively.' S.M. Farhad, a social activist based in New Karimganj, said the BJP was trying to create an impression that the opposition was backing illegal immigrants. 'We are vigilant and filling in our enumeration forms. Many of us have passports,' he said. Some villagers in Mahkar, such as Mithilesh Yadav, Binda Yadav, and Satyendra Kumar Yadav, were bemused about the rumours over illegal immigrants having become voters. They asked this reporter: 'How will outsiders go unnoticed in this village? This may be a problem in cities. But in a village, everyone knows everybody else. Which Bangladeshi or Rohingya Muslim will come here to settle?' Also Read | Bihar's Special Intensive Revision puts 2.93 crore voters at risk of exclusion Talking to Frontline, Rajya Sabha Member Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD said the ECI had repeatedly changed its stance. 'We had cautioned the Election Commission before moving the Supreme Court. The ECI knows that 20 per cent of the people from Bihar reside outside the State. In dealing with these people, it should be kept in mind that Bihar is the most document-deficient State. A huge majority of the people don't have all these documents. The timeline is pressing. That's why we moved the court. The honourable court gave a direction to the Election Commission that in order to maximise inclusion and minimise chaos, Aadhaar card, EPIC voter ID card, and ration card must be taken into account. But, so far, we have not seen any official confirmation or direction from the Election Commission. This adds to the worry, not only for political parties but for common citizens.' Shakeel Ahmad, former Minister of State (Home Affairs) in the earlier United Progressive Alliance government told Frontline: 'The timing and timeline of this revision is deeply concerning. This one-month deadline will add pressure to the already overburdened BLOs to verify and update voter data on the ground. It will exponentially increase the possibility of errors and affect the accuracy of electoral rolls. This revision can also leave genuine voters out of the list. Marginalised and rural communities with scant access to documentation may end up getting disenfranchised. Trying to push through such a massive exercise within a month is unthinkable. Now, it is incumbent upon the ECI to recall its decision completely and postpone it for after Assembly elections.' Clearly, the ECI and the State administration will face a major challenge on voting day as a crucial democratic exercise risks being undermined by a baffling administrative decision and a profound lack of clarity on the ground, which has left ample room for suspicions.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
More than 34 crore jobs created in MSMEs: Union Minister, Hr News, ETHRWorld
Advt Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETHRWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETHRWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles. New Delhi, More than 34 crore people have got employment in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the Udyam and Udyam Assist portals since 2014, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi stated in the Rajya Sabha on Minister of MSMEs said, in response to an MP's question on the floor of the House, that there was no shortage of money and workers of small enterprises, such as cobblers, have got financial assistance under various programmes such as the PM's Vishwakarma government considers the MSME sector as the backbone of India's manufacturing and industrial growth and is focusing on strengthening this sector to promote inclusive government made a significant decision to revise the definition of MSMEs after 14 years, which eliminated the fear among MSMEs that they would lose government benefits if they number of MSMEs in the country has increased to over 6 crore, providing employment opportunities to crores. The definition of MSMEs has been further expanded to make it easier for them to get Modi recently said that ten years ago, MSMEs received loans worth approximately Rs 12 lakh crore, which has now increased to around Rs 30 lakh Prime Minister announced that in the budget, the guarantee cover for MSME loans has been doubled to Rs 20 crore. Additionally, customised credit cards with a limit of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to meet working capital NITI Aayog has also released a detailed report for unlocking the immense potential of India's MSMEs through systemic reforms in financing, skilling, innovation and market MSMEs can become a key driver of sustainable economic growth by focusing on targeted interventions, building stronger institutional collaborations and enhancing global competitiveness, the report of the important findings of the report is the notable improvement in MSMEs' access to formal credit. Between 2020 and 2024, the share of micro and small enterprises accessing credit through scheduled banks rose from 14 per cent to 20 per cent, while medium enterprises saw an increase from 4 per cent to 9 per cent.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Over 34 crore people given employment since 2014: Manjhi
Patna: Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) patron and Union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), Jitan Ram Manjhi, on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that those who criticise PM Narendra Modi should know that only his ministry has given employment to around 34 crore people in the country in the last 11 years. "Some people say PM Modi only talks. But I must tell them that 28 crore people got employment and 6 crore have been registered for micro and medium enterprises through the Udyam and Udyam Assist portals since 2014," Manjhi informed the Rajya Sabha while responding to supplementary questions on the opening day of the monsoon session. The MP from Gaya said there is no dearth of money in his ministry and even small entrepreneurs like cobblers and people running salons were getting financial assistance under various schemes like the PM Vishwakarma Yojana. Manjhi also spoke about the digital upgrade and adopting artificial intelligence in the MSMEs in the states like Haryana to increase productivity and promote competitiveness.
News18
2 days ago
- Business
- News18
34 crore people got jobs since 2014 in MSMEs: Manjhi in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) More than 34 crore people have got jobs since 2014 in micro and medium enterprises through the Udyam and Udyam Assist portals, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises gave the information while responding to supplementaries. He said there is no dearth of money, and small workers are getting financial assistance under various schemes. For Instance, he said, under the PM Vishwakarma Yojna, people such as cobblers and salon workers have received money. Manjhi also spoke on promoting digital upgrade and adopting artificial intelligence in MSMEs in Haryana to enhance productivity and competitiveness. 'IndiaAI mission has been divided into seven pillars, such as IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Center, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI Startup Financing, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Dataset Platform, and Safe & Trusted AI. 'We have been working under these pillars for the development of technology in Haryana," Manjhi said. PTI JP VN VN Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Gazette
14-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"ECI doing a very good job": Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi backs Bihar's voter list revision
ANI 14 Jul 2025, 20:04 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], July 14 (ANI): Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday backed the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of poll bound Bihar's electoral rolls, saying that it is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission to investigate any discrepancies in the voter list and that the poll panel is 'doing a very good job.' The Union Minister's remarks come amid EC sources saying that a large number of individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have been found by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) with Aadhaar cards, domicile certificates and ration cards during house-to-house visits carried out as part of the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. Union Minister Manjhi also alleged that the opposition has been opposed to the revision because they themselves are 'taking political advantage of these fake voters.' 'It is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission of India to investigate the discrepancies in the voter list...I have been raising the issue that people from outside (people from Bangladesh, Myanmar) are living illegally in Bihar. Only those people should have the right to vote who are residents of Bihar,' the union minister told ANI. Praising the poll panel for the voter list revision, he alleged that the Opposition leaders have objected to revision because they are taking advantage of the 'fake voters.' 'The Election Commission of India is doing a very good job. The opposition leaders who are opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise mean that they are taking political advantage of these fake voters,' he said. The state will have Assembly polls later in the year. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that till Saturday evening, 80.11 per cent of electors in Bihar submitted their forms, adding that the commission is moving ahead to complete the collection of Enumeration Forms (EFs) before the stipulated time of July 25. (ANI)
