The Election Commission is overseeing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. This initiative is being contested by the opposition, including Congress and RJD, who are protesting the process with a voter rights campaign. Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are key participants in this campaign, raising questions about the SIR. The Election Commission has announced that it has received approximately 198,000 applications requesting name removal from the voter list. Furthermore, around 30,000 applications have been filed for name inclusions. The draft electoral roll was released on August 1, and the period for submitting “claims and objections” from the public and political parties extends until September 1. According to election regulations, citizens and political organizations can challenge the inclusion of names they deem ineligible in the draft list. Simultaneously, individuals who believe they are eligible but are not listed can apply for inclusion. The final voter list for Bihar, intended for the upcoming November elections, will be published on September 30. Booth-level agents nominated by political parties have lodged a series of claims related to the draft voter list, including 25 for inclusion and 103 for removal requests. The Election Commission reports that 99.11% of Bihar’s 7.24 crore voters have completed their document verification. The Supreme Court has advised the Election Commission to accept either an Aadhaar card or any of the eleven specified documents from those applying to register on the voter list. The Election Commission has sought the Supreme Court’s continued trust in the special intensive revision campaign. The opposition is criticizing the SIR as a collusion between the Election Commission and the BJP, alleging it is a strategy to remove voters from marginalized communities.
