EC defends special voter roll revision amid oppn protests
Patna: The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday made it clear that the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls is unlikely to be halted or postponed despite mounting opposition.
The exercise is progressing on schedule and the draft electoral roll is set to be published on Aug 1 for corrections, if any. The last such revision was conducted in 2003.
"All activities relating to SIR are progressing well as per schedule," the EC said in a press note.
The clarification came a day after leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc criticised the timing of the revision and alleged that the exercise was a veiled attempt to disenfranchise sections of the electorate in order to favour the ruling alliance.
"It is supposed to be the voters who elect the govt, but in this case, the govt is choosing the voters," an opposition leader said.
Unfazed by the criticism, the EC underlined its constitutional mandate. "The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties and the Election Commission of India follow the Constitution. SIR has already started successfully in Bihar for verifying the eligibility of each elector with full participation of all political parties," the poll panel said.
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The revision process officially began on Wednesday. The EC said 77,895 booth level officers (BLOs) have already been deployed and there are plans to induct 20,603 more. In addition, over one lakh volunteers will assist genuine voters – particularly the elderly, infirm, persons with disabilities, the poor and other vulnerable groups – during the revision.
Political parties, too, have engaged in the process with recognised national and state-level parties appointing over 1.54 lakh booth level agents (BLAs).
The EC noted that parties may still designate more BLAs if needed.
Printing and door-to-door distribution of enumeration forms (EFs) has begun in all 243 assembly constituencies, covering Bihar's 7.89 crore electorate. Online submission of EFs is also available.
Of these, 4.96 crore voters already listed in the last revised roll (based on the 2003 intensive revision) are only required to verify and submit the form. The remaining 2.93 crore must provide documents to support their claims for inclusion, first in the draft roll and subsequently in the final list after necessary corrections. Handbills are being distributed to inform voters about the process.
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