'Vote Bandi': INDIA bloc warns of mass protest over Bihar voter roll revision after meeting EC

The INDIA bloc accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of conducting a 'vote bandi' exercise in Bihar through its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. After what leaders described as a “not so friendly” meeting with the poll body on Wednesday (July 2), they warned of launching a massive protest if the revision proceeds in its current form.

Opposition leaders claimed that the EC’s process threatens to disenfranchise a large number of voters, especially migrant workers and the poor. They asserted that the citizenship claims of youth who enrolled post-2003 are now under question.

Concerns over migrant voters

According to the INDIA bloc, the EC admitted that 20 per cent of Bihar’s electorate are migrant workers and could be struck off the rolls if they are not classified as “ordinary residents.” This, they argue, unfairly targets a significant and vulnerable segment of the population.

Leaders from parties like the RJD, CPI(ML)L, and CPI(M) said the EC failed to provide satisfactory answers to their concerns. In contrast, an EC official claimed all issues were “fully addressed”, and even thanked the opposition for appointing over 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist with the revision process.

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Tense lead-up to the EC meeting

Tensions between the EC and the INDIA bloc were already simmering ahead of the meeting. The EC initially invited only RJD, CPI(ML)L, and CPI(M)- the three parties that had responded to its follow-up queries after requesting an appointment. Just before the meeting began, the EC enforced a two-person-per-party rule, forcing the Congress to leave three of its senior leaders outside, triggering a protest from the party.

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INDIA bloc slams voter roll revision in Bihar

Leaders from multiple parties in the INDIA bloc met with the Election Commission to express strong objections to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls currently underway in Bihar. They warned that the exercise, timed just before assembly elections, could disenfranchise over two crore voters, particularly from marginalised communities.

Parties question the timing and scope of revision

Delegates from 11 opposition parties, including the Congress, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, NCP-SP, and Samajwadi Party, met with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other election officials to convey their deep concerns.

The INDIA bloc questioned the rationale for conducting a massive revision in Bihar, India’s second-most populous state, with nearly eight crore voters, within a compressed time frame of just one to two months.

Concerns for marginalised groups

Briefing the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi highlighted that Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, migrant workers, and the poor could be the most affected. He pointed out that many may not be able to provide birth certificates for themselves or their parents, which are being demanded as part of the verification.

He warned that voters whose names are dropped will have no time to challenge the deletions, as elections will already be underway and courts typically do not entertain such cases during polling periods.

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"Is every past election now invalid?"

Singhvi questioned the logic behind the revision, asking, “If the last revision was done in 2003, and 4-5 elections have taken place since then, are we now suggesting that all those elections were flawed?”

He criticised the EC for initiating the SIR exercise a year before the Lok Sabha elections and two years ahead of the assembly elections, and argued that the current process could undermine the basic democratic rights of citizens.

Constitutional concerns raised

Calling the move a threat to the basic structure of the Constitution, Singhvi said, “This level of disenfranchisement and disempowerment is unprecedented. We gave universal adult suffrage in 1950, well ahead of many Western democracies.”

He warned that even a single wrongful deletion or addition to the electoral roll creates a non-level playing field, thereby distorting the democratic process.