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The Wire
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Wire
In Bihar, Is the Election Commission Revising the Electoral Rolls or Compiling an NRC?
First, the facts. The current term of the Bihar state assembly ends on November 22, 2025. Elections, therefore, have to be held before that date. Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, authorises the Election Commission of India (ECI), to 'direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit' … 'at any time, for reasons to be recorded'. This is further reinforced by Rule 25 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which says, 'The roll for every constituency shall be revised under sub-section (2) of section 21 either intensively or summarily or partly intensively and partly summarily, as the Election Commission may direct.' On June 24, 2025, ECI 1. issued a four-page press note announcing that it will 'begin Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar', and 2. wrote a 19-page letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar with the subject – 'Special Intensive Revision w.r.t. 01.07.2025 as the qualifying date' – consisting of a three-page letter with four annexures: a three-page 'ORDER' titled 'Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls', a nine-page 'Detailed Guidelines For Special Intensive Revision', a two-page 'Enumeration Form' including a 'Declaration' format, and a two-page 'Declaration Form' including an 'Indicative (not exhaustive) list of documents to be submitted in support of the declaration (separate self attested documents to be submitted for Self, Father and Mother, if mentioned above, except where extract of the Electoral Roll of Bihar with qualifying date 01.01.2003 is used, which will be considered as a sufficient document in itself)'. Paragraph 7 of the letter to the CEO of Bihar states that 'SIR (Special Intensive Revision) [is] to be undertaken strictly within the timeline as per the following schedule.' The schedule shows that the process was to begin on June 25, 2025. Note that the letter itself is dated June 24, 2025. This is what will need to happen: ERO (electoral registration officers) to print pre-filled Enumeration Forms (in duplicate) for all existing electors and give it to the respective BLOs (booth-level officers)', then, training to be given to BLOs, then, distribution of enumeration forms by going from house to house, subsequently, the collection of the filled/corrected forms, again by going from house to house, the checking and verification of Enumeration Forms by superior officials, the rationalisation/re-arrangement of polling stations and finalisation of proposed restructuring of section/part boundaries, location of polling stations and obtaining approval of list of polling stations, the publication of draft electoral roll on August 01, 2025, followed by a period for filing claims and objections, and final publication of the electoral roll on September 30, 2025. Need and timing for the 'Special Intensive Revision' The press note says: "Various reasons such as rapid urbanization, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants have necessitated the conduct of an intensive revision so as to ensure integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls." Paragraph 4 of the order of June 24, 2025 says: "Whereas, in line with this objective, the Commission has previously exercised its powers under enabling statutes in the years such as 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003 and 2004 to undertake Intensive Revision of electoral rolls for all or some parts of the country for afresh preparation of electoral rolls through enumeration. The last intensive revision in Bihar, was conducted by the Commission in the year 2003 with reference to 01.01.2003 as the qualifying date." This raises an issue. Have 'rapid urbanization, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants' intensified in the last few years or have they been on-going phenomena? Following this, it is surprising that while from 1952 to 2004, such revisions seem to have been done much more frequently, the ECI has not felt the need for doing so for the last 21 years! The current ECI might say that they are not responsible for what happened between 2004 and now but that may not be an adequate explanation because the ECI is an institution which is expected to function continuously irrespective of the individuals who come and go. There has to be some institutional memory and 21 years is not an insignificant period of time by any standard. Feasibility of the time frame The time frame for the entire exercise as summarised at above appears to be extremely ambitious. Not to overstress the supreme optimism in the expectation that EROs will start printing pre-filled enumeration forms for all existing electors and giving them to the respective BLOs on June 25, 2025 after receiving the instructions by email or WhatsApp on June 24, 2025, but expecting two rounds of house-to-house survey after having been trained (assuming training materials are ready), preparation of draft electoral rolls, rationalisation or re-arrangement of polling stations and finalisation of proposed restructuring of section or part boundaries, location of polling stations, dealing with objections or claims after providing sufficient time for their filing, to be completed in just three months, seems a really tall order. Perhaps the ECI can take some advice from the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. A related issue is the starting time. Conducting an intensive revision is clearly a very useful activity. Could it not have been started a few months earlier? ECI states in the press note, reassuringly, that it 'shall be seeking active involvement of all political parties in the process.' It adds, 'It may be underscored that both, the electors and the political parties, are the most important stakeholders in any electoral process and it is only with their full participation that an exercise of such magnitude can be conducted smoothly and successfully.' Might it not have been useful and was it not possible to include 'the most important stakeholders in any electoral process' in the planning process for 'an exercise of such magnitude'? Legal and procedural issues Voters registered in Bihar after January 1, 2003 Paragraph 11 of the Order of June 24, 2025 reads as follows: 'Since the last intensive revision in Bihar was undertaken in 2003, the EROs shall treat the electoral roll of 2003 with qualifying date of 01.01.2003 as probative evidence of eligibility, including presumption of citizenship unless they receive any other input otherwise.' It is followed by paragraph 12 which reads: 'Any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 Electoral Roll shall for the purpose of registration in the electoral roll is required to submit from amongst a wide range of eligible government documents as prescribed for establishing their eligibility to be an elector.' Read together, and in simple English (devoid of legalese), these mean that all those registered as voters after January 1, 2023, are not registered voters and, to add insult to injury, not presumed to be citizens of India. This may sound like an exaggeration but it follows directly from what Paragraph 11 says: '…the EROs shall treat the electoral roll of 2003 with qualifying date of 01.01.2003 as probative evidence of eligibility, including presumption of citizenship...' This is reinforced by Paragraph 12 which says that such persons (those not enrolled as voters on January 1, 2003) will be 'required to submit from amongst a wide range of eligible government documents as prescribed for establishing their eligibility to be an elector.' The 'wide range of eligible government documents' given in the 'indicative (not exhaustive) list of documents to be submitted in support of the declaration' are very similar to documents required to be produced to establish one's citizenship. Here the ECI is on firm ground because Article 326 of the Constitution of India states that 'every person who is a citizen of be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election'. However, three issues still remain. One, if these persons who were not registered as voters on January 1, 2003 but were registered later, are not to be considered registered voters now, what happens to the votes they cast in all the intervening elections from January 2003 till now? Are all those votes and the election results based on those votes, invalid? How do we deal with this? Two, again, if these persons who were not registered as voters on January 1, 2003 but were registered later, are not to be considered registered voters now, does this not mean that for all practical purposes their names have been deleted from the electoral roll? This creates a problem. Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 is titled 'Deletion of name' and provides a process for deletion of names registered in the electoral roll. This process, inter alia, requires that 'before taking any action under this rule in respect of any registration officer shall make every endeavour to give him a reasonable opportunity to show cause why the action proposed should not be taken in relation to him'. This means that all those persons who were not registered as voters on January 1, 2003 but were registered later, have now been deprived of their legal right for this 'reasonable opportunity'. If any of these deprived persons decides to go to court for this violation, the courts will have to decide this issue. The third issue pertains to what amounts to a change in the procedure for registration of voters. The current procedure, before June 24, 2025, required a person wishing to be registered as a voter, to fill Form 6, given in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and the person is required to give the following declaration: 'DECLARATION - I hereby declare that to the best of knowledge and belief – I am a citizen of India and place of my birth is Village/Town ____ District ____ State ____ I am ordinarily resident at the address given at (h) above since ____ (date, month, year). I have not applied for the inclusion of my name in the electoral roll for any other constituency. *My name has not already been included in the electoral roll for this or any other assembly/ parliamentary constituency OR *My name may have been included in the electoral roll for ____ Constituency in ____ State in which I was ordinarily resident earlier at the address mentioned below and if so, I request that the same may be deleted from that electoral roll. * strike off the option not appropriate' Form 6 does not require any information regarding the parents of the applicant. Now, there is an 'indicative' (not exhaustive) list of documents to be submitted in support of the declaration with separate self-attested documents to be submitted for self, father and mother. This is a major departure from the practice that has existed for many years and there is no specific explanation provided for this major change. Practical issues The first major practical issue is that of timing and feasibility primarily arising from the conditions in rural Bihar such as literacy, computer literacy, availability or lack of power, and the elephant-in-the-room in Bihar – migration. As of now, all the forms seem to be in English. Even assuming that they will be translated into Hindi and possibly other local languages, literacy remains a challenge. 'Key highlights' attached to the press note say the following: 'EROs to print pre-filled Enumeration Form (EF) for all existing electors as on the date of the order and give it to BLOs. 'BLOs to distribute EFs to all existing electors through House-to-House visit 'EF will be available on the ECI website/ECINET which can be downloaded by an elector whose name is in the electoral roll as on the date of the order'. While it is very nice for the EF to be available on the ECI website/ECINET but the question arises as to how many electors in rural Bihar will be computer-literate enough to download the EF, or will have the equipment to do so, or will have adequate supply of electricity to do so Then there is the issue of migration. The propensity of people from Bihar to migrate to other states in search of livelihood is widely known. Imagine the plight of migrants who are earning a living working outside the state, often under difficult conditions. They will not be found 'at home' when the BLO goes to their 'house' in the village to give and then to collect the EF. Will they be in a position to 'download' the EF while working at a construction site in Mumbai? How many such and other unfortunate electors will be disenfranchised because of these impractical provisions is anyone's guess. Transparency The fourth paragraph of the press note has a very curious and interesting provision. It says the following: 'Now, to ensure complete transparency, it would be necessary that the documents on the basis of which such satisfaction of ERO is arrived at, are also uploaded in ECINET as the current level of technology enables so. However, these documents shall be accessible to authorized election officials only keeping in view the privacy issues.' This is truly delectable. While the documents will be uploaded in ECINET 'to ensure complete transparency', '(h)owever, these documents shall be accessible to authorized election officials only…' How transparent can one get! Another view In a June 25, 2025 editorial, a national daily has said: 'So, birth certificates for those born after 2004, who also need to furnish parents' documents, as proof of citizenship will throw up a gazillion issues. Already, there are fears that the 'illegal immigrant' electoral plank, in a state where EBCs include Muslim groups, will rear its head – as it did in pre-poll Jharkhand.' It goes on to add, 'Vagaries of monsoon are certainly not the time for poor Bihar voters to be scurrying around to prove, via documents, their eligibility as a voter.' Thus, the proposed Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls for Bihar, as envisaged by the ECI in the documents available in the public domain so far, appears to be impractical given the schedule the ECI has itself laid down. The revision might result in the disenfranchisement of a substantial number of electors of Bihar. The procedure specified for the revision circumvents and violates existing legal provisions that the ECI has been following for a long time. This has the potential to create legal complications. Last word The list (indicative not exhaustive) of documents required to be produced, including some for the applicant's parents reminds one of the slogan ' k agaz nahin dikhayenge (we won't show our papers)' used during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. And this leads to the next logical question. Is this electoral roll revision or is this the NRC? Jagdeep S. Chhokar is a concerned citizen.
India Gazette
21 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Election Commission initiates proceedings to delist 345 RUPPs
New Delhi [Delhi], June 27 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI), under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, has started proceedings for the delisting of 345 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) which have failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even a single election for the last six years since 2019 and the offices of these parties could not be physically located anywhere. According to a release from the Election Commission, these 345 RUPPs are from different States and UTs across the country. It has come to the notice of the Commission that of the over 2,800 RUPPs currently registered with ECI, many RUPPs have failed to fulfil the essential conditions that are required to continue as an RUPP. Thus, a nationwide exercise was conducted by the ECI to identify such RUPPs, and 345 have already been identified to date. In order to ensure that no party is unduly de-listed, the CEOs of the respective States/UTs have been directed to issue show-cause notices to such RUPPs, following which, these parties will be given an opportunity through a hearing by the concerned CEOs. The final decision regarding the de-listing of any RUPP shall be taken by the Election Commission of India. Political parties (national, state, and RUPPs) in the country are registered with the ECI under the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under this provision, any association that is once registered as a political party receives certain privileges and advantages, such as tax exemptions, among others. This exercise has been conducted with the aim of cleaning up the political system and delisting parties that have not contested any election to the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assemblies of States/UTs or bye-elections since 2019, as well as those that could not be physically traced. These 345 RUPPs have been identified in the first phase of this exercise, which shall be continued with the objective of cleaning up the political system. (ANI)
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
How the Shah Commission report went missing and its eventual rediscovery
On June 12, 1975, in Courtroom no. 24 of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha pronounced the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, guilty of electoral malpractice. It was found that Gandhi violated Section 123(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, by availing the services of gazetted officers in furthering her election campaign. Her election was declared 'null and void' and she was disqualified from holding any electoral office for the next six years. In a last-ditch, hasty attempt to hold on to power, she recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a national emergency. The head of the State obliged to her wishes and at the stroke of the midnight hour on June 25, 1975, proclaimed Emergency. Following this, the fundamental rights of the citizens were suspended, and a federal democracy morphed into a unitary one overnight. The next 21 months saw the imprisonment of political leaders, censorship of the press, and even forced sterilisations. So, when she was finally defeated in the 1977 general elections, the political parties that allied to form the Janata Party, which eventually formed the government, appointed the Shah Commission in 1978, headed by former Chief Justice J.C. Shah, to inquire into the excesses committed during the Emergency. Author Katherine Frank in her biography of Indira Gandhi titled Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi noted that the former Prime Minister was unwilling to cooperate during the deposition. Eventually, the Commission published two interim reports and one final report on August 6, 1978. The reports detailed the abuse of power by the Central government, which included detention and arbitrary arrest of political dissidents, and censorship of the media. The report also highlighted the systematic suppression of civil liberties, among other excesses. However, these conclusions could not remain in the public consciousness for long, as cracks started to develop in the Janata government due to ideological disagreements. Citizens were forced back into queues at voting centres in just two years. This time around, the mandate was overwhelmingly in favour of Indira Gandhi. Once back at the helm, she seemed keen on refuting the evidence collected by the Shah Commission. Author Vernon Hewitt, in his book Political Mobilization and Democracy in India: States of Emergency, noted that she attempted to recall copies of the Commission's reports wherever possible. And it looked like she succeeded for a moment; no one, including researchers, authors, and journalists, could get hold of the report. It almost looked like this historical document containing a young democracy's troubles got lost in time. But this was until Rajagopal 'Era' Sezhiyan, former Member of the Parliament, unearthed the report in his home library in 2010, and decided to publish it as Shah Commission Report: Lost, and Regained. In republishing the book, an important documented account of history made its way back to political, legal, and academic circles of the country, enriching our understanding of authoritarian decisions and their excesses. Later it was revealed that the National Library of Australia too had a copy of the report of the Commission. Talking about the document, Era Sezhiyan remarked, '…it is more than an investigative report; it is a magnificent historical document to serve as a warning for those coming to power in the future not to disturb the basic structure of a functioning democracy and also, for those suppressed under a despotic rule, a hopeful guide to redeem the freedom by spirited struggle.' On June 24, 2025, Goa's Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai launched his book Shah Commission: Echoes from a Buried Report. Slowly one could be lead to believe that the report is making its way back to public consciousness.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
EC crackdown: 345 unrecognised parties face delisting; failed to contest polls or verify office locations
NEW DELHI: In a move aimed at 'cleaning the political space', the Election Commission on Thursday initiated proceedings for delisting 345 regisered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) that had failed to fulfil the statutory obligation of contesting even a single election in the last six years and the offices of which could not be located at the address mentioned in their registration documents. These 345 RUPPs are registered in different states and Union territories across the country. The Commission on Thursday said that it had come to its notice that of the over 2,800 RUPPs currently registered with ECI, many have failed to fulfil the essential conditions to maintain their registration status. 'Thus, a nationwide exercise was conducted by the ECI to identify such RUPPs and 345 such RUPPs have been identified till now,' EC said in a statement. The review is ongoing and more such 'non-compliant, inactive' RUPPs may face delisting proceedings in the days to come. The chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the states/UTs where such 'defaulter' RUPPs are registered, have been directed to issue show-cause notices, giving an opportunity to such parties to be heard. 'The final decision regarding the delisting of any RUPP shall be taken by the Election Commission of India , based on the CEO's report,' said an official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Political parties (National/State/RUPPs) in the country are registered with the ECI under the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Under this provision, any association, once registered as a political party, gets certain privileges and advantages such as tax exemptions amongst others. EC had in January 2024 made it mandatory for RUPPs to attach a declaration with their application for allotment of common poll symbol, confirming that they have filed their contribution reports and annual audit accounts for the last three financial years and election expenditure statement for the last two polls contested. Since 2022, the poll panel has delisted 284 defaulting and non-compliant RUPPs and declared 253 RUPPs inactive as part of its efforts to clean up the political space historically occupied by non-functional political parties. These parties were found to be availing benefits like 100% tax exemption on donations received without meeting the statutory requirements under the Representation of the People Act or contesting elections. Some were serving as shell companies or money laundering vehicles, while some others were fielding candidates in elections only to demand money from recognised parties for withdrawing their nomination.
India Today
a day ago
- Politics
- India Today
Poll body to go door-to-door nationwide to remove illegal migrants from voter list
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will now conduct door-to-door verification of voter lists across the country, starting with Bihar. This intensive voter list survey aims to ensure the integrity of electoral rolls by identifying and removing the names of illegal migrants and ineligible Bihar, the first state to undergo this exercise, voters who were enroled in the 2003 voter list will not be required to submit any documents. This group includes around 5 crore individuals. However, those who enroled after 2003 will have to submit valid documents to prove their identity and eligibility. In some other states, the cut-off year will be the 2004 voter verification is part of a special intensive revision that the ECI is launching in six states: Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, all of which are scheduled to hold Assembly elections either this year or in early 2026. While Bihar goes to the polls in October-November 2025, the remaining states are set for elections in March-April 2026. The opposition parties have raised concerns about political bias in this move, while the Commission maintains that it is a constitutional responsibility to ensure fair and clean ECI has assured that all steps taken will strictly follow the legal framework laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. WhileThe Commission's move focusses on identifying illegal foreign migrants who have entered the voter list using fake documents. It comes amid ongoing actions in several states against Bangladeshi and Rohingya officers will visit households for physical verification of voters. Special emphasis will be placed on verifying those who have migrated into the state from elsewhere or are first-time applicants. All such individuals must submit a declaration form with documentary proof of will need to prove that they were born in India before July 1, 1987. If they were born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, they must also provide documents establishing their parents' date and place of is the first intensive voter list revision in Bihar since Commission highlighted that multiple factors such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, deaths not being reported, and increasing cases of fraudulent voter registrations have made it necessary to conduct this detailed verification to maintain the purity of electoral rolls.- EndsMust Watch
