Why Election Commission’s Bihar SIR exercise has received widespread criticism

On the face of it, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar ordered by the Election Commission (EC), should not be considered unexceptionable.

Article 324 of the Constitution empowers the EC to oversee elections. Article 326 directs that the franchise be limited to all adult Indian citizens. The updating of electoral rolls is supported by the Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960 and the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1950. The last SIR in Bihar was undertaken in 2003 and there have been annual summary revisions in many states since then.

So, why has the electoral roll revision in Bihar, going to the polls in a few months’ time, stoked such widespread discontent?

Critics see in it a fiendish move, an audacious attempt at mass disenfranchisement of Indian citizens. Wrote social activist Yogendra Yadav in a column: “In effect this is, as critics have alleged, a move at votebandi, following notebandi (demonetisation) and deshbandi (lockdown). Dumb at best and diabolic at worst, this draconian policy shift could end up taking away the only right that crores of ordinary Indians have had — the right to vote.’’

The outrage may well lie in the explanation the EC has offered for the revision. These include migration, need to weed out foreign illegal immigrants, to include newly eligible voters and delete the names of the dead.

The EC’s order is clear: Every voter will have to fill out the enumeration form with a current photograph, signatures, some basic details, plus proof of citizenship. Those who had their names on the electoral rolls (ER) of 2003 (presuming the exact name and residence have not changed) have a shortcut. They can attach a copy of the page carrying their name in the ER-2003. That will be accepted as proof of their citizenship.

The EC has claimed that 4.96 crore people (63% of those currently on the ER) will be able to take this shortcut, leaving less than 3 crores to prove their eligibility. Rahul Shastri in The Hindu debunks this claim saying that the EC did not consider the number of deaths, migration and shifting of residence since 2003! He demonstrates that the correct figure is closer to 3.16 crore.

‘Documentary Proof’

In a first, the onus of being on the voters’ list has been shifted from the state to the citizen. Those who fail to submit fresh enumeration forms by July 25 will automatically be left out of the draft rolls. Also, for the first time, every person would be required to provide documentary proof of their citizenship to qualify to be on the voters’ list.

In other words, it is not enough to have an Aadhaar card, the EC’s photo identity card, ration card or MGNREGA job card, as none of them would be accepted by the ECI to enrol someone as a voter.

While political hackles have been raised with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CM-aspirant Tejaswi Yadav announcing a general strike on July 9, the matter has reached the Supreme Court.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has approached the apex court questioning the manner and timing of the EC’s decision to undertake the SIR of electoral rolls.

In its public interest litigation (PIL), ADR said SIR needs to be set aside, as insisting on people to prove their citizenship and that of their parents within short notice and without relying upon easily available identity documents such as Aadhaar card will potentially disenfranchise nearly 3 crore voters.

A Special Summary Revision (SSR) was carried out in the state between October 29, 2024, and January 6, 2025, to address issues of migration and ineligible voters due to death or other reasons. Pointing this out, the petition said, “There is no reason for such a drastic exercise in a poll bound state in such a short period of time, violating the right to vote of lakhs of voters.”

The Supreme Court on July 7 agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging the decision of the EC.

Says DM Diwakar, former director at Patna’s AN Sinha Institute and currently with the Development Research Institute, Jalsain: “Let us face the truth — the kind of proof the ECI is demanding, simply does not exist with most people because the state never supplied them the papers it demands of them today.’’

According to him, it is tragic that at this time of the year, when the farmers are facing a drought-like situation, slogging to cultivate their crops, the EC is demanding documents that they may not be able to produce in time.

In addition, there are other implications, says Diwakar. “Many voters were born here. If left out of the electoral roll, they may not qualify for benefits and government programmes in the future. It is a downright anti-poor move.”

A consensus on the number of voters is also elusive, for the moment. The EC on July 6 issued an advertisement in all the vernacular dailies urging the 7.8 crore voters to fill their enumeration form and submit it to their respective block level officers (BLOs) without attaching any document. The draft roll will be published in August wherein any voter may raise objections or get the anomalies corrected. The final draft of the voters’ list will be published in September.

Political sources suggest that the main trigger for the SIR may be to weed out illegal Bangladeshi migrants in some parts of Bihar, notably the Seemanchal area, which constitutes the districts of Purnea, Kishanganj, Araria and Katihar. The BJP has for years campaigned against illegal migrants.

Political analyst Amitabh Tewari says it is important to focus on citizenship rights. “It is interesting to note that Form 6 of the EC, which admits fresh voters, does not have a column on citizenship rights. Noone can say, why. So, what should have been done in the first instance, is now being done in Bihar.”

The bone of contention is not so much the legalities but the manner of its execution. Former chief election commissioner TS Krishnamurthy told this reporter: “The CEC is well within its rights to call for a revision of the voters list. While some people have expressed concern over the timing, the EC is more than ready. They have already appointed 77,895 BLOs and 20,603 more are expected to join in.’’

He adds, however, that such decisions are taken in consultation with political parties and that needs time.

And therein may lie the difference. Analyst Diwakar points out that unlike 2025, in 2003, when it was last held, the SIR was an extensive exercise with several rounds of discussions with political parties, before the final announcement.

This decision by the EC, announced on June 24, was a bolt out of the blue.