Dead Voters and Democracy's Farce in Bihar's SIR
Dear readers,
Politics has always been a spectacle—drama, melodrama, suspense, and the odd twist that makes you wonder if you're watching the news or a bad soap. But the events around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR)—a term many point out the Election Commission has never used before—have outdone even the most overcooked political potboiler.
Surreal. Sordid.
On August 13, Rahul Gandhi had tea with seven 'dead' voters from Raghopur, the Assembly constituency of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar, and thanked the Election Commission with sugar-laced sarcasm.
'There have been many interesting experiences in life, but I never got the chance to have tea with dead people. For this unique experience, thank you, Election Commission!' Gandhi posted on X.
Was he thinking of the 1995 American crime drama Dead Man Walking, or the rock supergroup of (almost) the same name that toured the UK, Ireland, and the US? I like to think these 'dead men walking' staged an exclusive presentation for Rahul, who, in true Main Hoon Na style, promised to fight for their rights.
It brought to mind Kaagaz (2021), the story of Lal Bihari 'Mritak', a middle-class man from Uttar Pradesh declared dead in government records, whose 18-year battle to prove he was alive led him to found the Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People. Or Unwanted (2019), about an autistic boy, Mangal Azad, who must prove he is alive after being declared dead.
Reel life is one thing. In real life, it's less entertaining when your own government says you no longer exist.
Meanwhile, the actor Kay Kay Menon objected to the Congress using a clip from his web series Special Ops promotions in its 'Vote Chori' campaign—without permission. The ad caption read: 'Himmat Singh kuch keh rahe hain, jaldi se kar aao! Band karo (Himmat Singh is saying something, go quickly! Stop it).' Soon came Menon's dry rejoinder: 'Please note I have not acted in this ad.'
Still, nothing could outshine the absurdity of Rahul Gandhi's tea party with the certified-dead—a ready-made masala script. In a four-minute clip he shared, the 'deceased' joked about sightseeing in Delhi and wondered how a dead man buys a ticket to the monuments. Many only discovered their official deaths after checking the electoral rolls, despite filing all the paperwork for inclusion.
Before this séance in Delhi came the case of Minta Devi, listed in Bihar's voter rolls as 124 years old, making her older than Ethel Caterham, the world's oldest living person at 115. Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress women MPs wore T-shirts with Minta Devi's photo to mock the SIR's absurdities. The BJP pounced, accusing the Congress of violating privacy, as Minta Devi herself demanded to know who gave permission to plaster her Election Card publicly. But in politics, privacy is an optional extra.
Then came Mintu Paswan, produced in the Supreme Court by the activist Yogendra Yadav—another 'dead' man, despite having voted in the last four Lok Sabha elections. His crime? Someone told an official he was dead.
The farce has spread beyond Bihar. Aaditya Thackeray cited a Varanasi man who fathered 34 children in 16 years, a Palghar woman with five voter cards, and an unmarried seer listed as the father of 50 voters.
The hits keep coming: 269 voters at one Muzaffarpur address, 247 at another in Jamui. The list of absurdities could double as the sequel to Kaagaz.
Rahul Gandhi now plans a 16-day 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar from August 17, which the Congress calls a decisive battle for democracy and one-person-one-vote. The march will start in Sasaram, once represented by Meira Kumar and her father, the late Jagjivan Ram.
And in case you thought the scriptwriters had clocked out, there was that earlier incident where someone filed an online application for a residence certificate in Donald Trump's name in Samastipur, just days after the Bihar administration issued one to 'Dog Babu'.
Until the next newsletter, SIR and madam,
I remain
Yours truly,
Anand Mishra | Political Editor, Frontline
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