Latest news with #Intensive


The Print
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Nitish is not fit to continue as CM, NDA will lose power in Bihar come November—Prashant Kishor
Even though the Jan Suraaj has officially not announced how many seats it will contest in Bihar, which has 243 constituencies, Kishor said he himself may enter the poll fray if the party decides so. 'That decision will be taken in August. The party will decide. It's possible I may contest… we have a process inside the party, we will sit and discuss, and make a decision in August,' he said. 'There will be no middle ground,' he told ThePrint in a wide-ranging interview in which he also talked about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, migration, employment and corruption among others. Purnea: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has said his party will either be on the 'arsh or farsh' (form the government on its own or not be in power at all) in the upcoming elections in Bihar, as he presented it as an honest and strong alternative in the state. On being asked which alliance among the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and BJP-led NDA his party could join in case of a fractured mandate, Kishor said the NDA's departure is a certainty, and the voter has to decide between the RJD and his Jan Suraaj. When asked whether he is pitching the Jan Suraaj as an alternative to the BJP in Bihar, Kishor said his party is the 'alternative to the lack of options' in Bihar, and underlined his ideological and political differences with the BJP. Kishor also spoke at length about why he started the Jan Suraaj, how he plans to address much-talked about issues like migration, jobs, and education, and what he saw during his padyatra across Bihar. The people of Bihar want 'change' and there will be a change come November, he said. 'And I feel that most of the people who want the change are now able to see that if the change has to happen, the NDA has to go. Nitish and BJP are bound to go,' he said. 'They (voters) have two options. One is Lalu-Tejashwi, jungle raj, lantern which people have seen and experienced for 15 years. And the other option they have is the Jan Suraaj which is a new system which people have not tested yet. But people have been watching, listening to and understanding it for 2-2.5 years.' Pitting himself against the RJD, Kishor said people need to decide whether they want to bring in the 'Lalu's jungle raj, which you have tried and tested for 15 years' or a new effort which is an 'honest and strong alternative'. 'This is the only decision that needs to be taken. Change is certain. Nitish Kumar's departure is certain. You can take it in writing from me. After November, Nitish Kumar will no longer be the chief minister of Bihar. No two ways about it,' he said. Kishor said his party is trying to build a system that presents an alternative. 'I fully believe a time will come when the people of Bihar will say 'this is the party, this is the person, these are the people who are ours and who can bring change to Bihar'. That's why I'm saying the Jan Suraaj will be either in the race, or out of it. There will be no middle ground,' he explained. 'In the election results, Jan Suraaj ya toh arsh pe rahega ya farsh pe rahega,' he said, but asserted whatever be the electoral results, he will continue to fight for the people of Bihar. Detailing the organisational structure of the party, Kishor said from October last year till April 2025, they have tried to build and expand the organisational structure. 'Today, the Jan Suraaj is the largest political organisation in Bihar. We don't have any MP or MLA, but if you look at the number of primary and founding members, then the Jan Suraaj has almost twice the BJP's proclaimed number of 70 lakh,' he claimed. Kishor said his party will not resort to the culture of 'freebies' to win elections, and criticised the RJD's poll promise of giving Rs 2,500 to every woman every month if it comes to power. 'The RJD was in power for 15 years. Why didn't it occur to them then? Tejashwi Yadav ran the government as deputy chief minister for three years. Why didn't it occur to him then? But it's pointless to talk about the RJD,' Kishor said, pointing out that even their ally Congress has promised it. 'There is one known economist and former finance minister in this country, P. Chidambaram, who is also a senior Congress leader. Let P. Chidambaram come to Bihar and explain just two things: Bihar has six crore women based on population. Even if you don't count minor girls and children, there would be about 4.5 to 5 crore adult women. If you give Rs 2,500 per month to 5 crore women, that comes to around Rs 1.5 lakh-crore a year. So P. Chidambaram should come and tell us from where will Bihar get Rs 1.5 lakh-crore?' Kishor asked Tejashwi Yadav as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to explain if such a scheme can be implemented in Bihar, then why are they not implementing it in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh where the Congress is in power. 'All three of these states are financially stronger than Bihar. So why aren't you implementing it in Karnataka? Why aren't you giving Rs 2,500 per month to women in Telangana? Implement it there, and we'll believe you can do it in Bihar too.' he added. On Thursday, Chief Minister Kumar also announced free electricity for all consumers in the state for up to 125 units. However, Kishor said this is not feasible in a state like Bihar. 'If you leave aside one or two states in the country like Delhi and Goa, which are revenue-surplus states, no other state has such a financial condition that it can give Rs 2,000-2,500 per month to all women. It's just not possible.' Also Read: How Prashant Kishor's newly minted Jan Suraaj party will impact key players in Bihar politics 'Nitish not face of NDA' Kishor launched the Jan Suraaj 2 October 2024, and since then it has been cornering the Nitish government, especially over the issue of corruption. Asked if he thinks Nitish Kumar will be the face of the NDA in the 2025 polls, Kishor asserted 'absolutely not'. Union Home Minister Amit Shah says the NDA will win but is quiet on who will be their face, he said, adding Kumar has lost the trust of the public as he frequently changed alliances. 'I've been saying for the past 2 years—Nitish Kumar neither has the mental capacity nor the physical capacity to run the government. And I believe that come what may Nitish Kumar will not remain the Chief Minister after November. Bihar will get a new government and a new chief minister'. Kishor said that all the three major political parties—Congress, RJD, and BJP— have ruled Bihar and if the state is still backward today, then these parties are responsible. 'If the youth of Bihar are still unemployed today, then these three are responsible. If Bihar is still at the bottom in education and health, then these three are responsible.' Putting forward a blueprint for addressing distress migration from the state, Kishor said one has to first understand that migration from Bihar is not just of labourers. 'The biggest migration from Bihar is capital migration. The second is brain drain and the third is labour migration,' he explained. Kishor said the money that the people of Bihar keep in banks as savings is not lent by banks to people here, they don't invest this money here and they don't give loans here. 'Instead, they send this money to other states. This is RBI data.' Kishor said the Jan Suraaj will first stop capital migration, and after this is achieved it will help arrest brain drain. 'The day you stop capital and brain drain, labour migration will stop on its own,' he said. 'In material terms, the moment the Jan Suraaj system is established, a special ministry, a department will be created whose sole and only job will be that within one year, 50 lakh people who have been forced to go out to feed their families, will be brought back,' he added. 'EC under BJP pressure' Commenting on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Kishor said the exercise is being done to help the BJP. 'The Election Commission is acting under pressure. I have said clearly — the BJP has realised it cannot win in Bihar without manipulation. They know the Jan Suraaj movement is growing. People are angry with all parties. 'So now they are trying to cut votes at the root—by deleting names of voters, especially migrant voters. People who live and work outside, their names are being removed under the excuse that they're not present,' he alleged. 'This is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has said that the EC cannot decide citizenship or eligibility arbitrarily. But they're doing this in coordination with local officials. It's being done selectively— anti-government or anti-establishment names are being removed. This is a big danger for democracy. If this continues, we will protest. People will hit the streets if their vote is stolen,' he said. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Gloves off as NDA leaders, Prashant Kishor trade barbs in run-up to high-stakes Bihar polls


News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Over 5.76 lakh Bihar electors enrolled at multiple places: EC data
New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The Election Commission (EC) has so far found that over 5.76 lakh electors in Bihar are enrolled at multiple places and over 12.55 lakh have probably died. As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voters' list continues, official data also states that out of nearly 7.90 crore electors, over 35.69 lakh were not found at their addresses during the house-to-house visit of booth-level officers. According to data, over 17.37 lakh electors have probably permanently shifted. The poll authority underlined that the figures will change in the coming days. On July 14, the poll panel had said that as on that date, the names of over 6.60 crore or 83.66 per cent of the total 7.89 crore electors of Bihar will be included in the draft electoral roll to be published on August 1. The figures would change later. The list will include all electors whose forms have been received by the deadline. Focused efforts through newspaper advertisements and direct contact are being made with electors who may have temporarily migrated out of the state to ensure that they are able to fill their enumeration forms (EFs) well in time and have their names also included in the draft roll. The EC said as of Thursday, 89.7 per cent of the existing electors (7.08 crore) have given their EFs to be included in the draft electoral roll. To re-verify the electors who have not been found at their addresses even after three visits of BLOs, the information on such persons who are probably deceased, permanently shifted or have enrolled at multiple places is being shared with district presidents of political parties and the 1.5 lakh booth-level agents appointed by them so that the exact status of such electors can be confirmed by them before July 25. Special camps are also being set up in all the 5,683 wards of all 261 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Bihar to facilitate the voters. PTI NAB KSS KSS view comments First Published: July 18, 2025, 00:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


India.com
3 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
EC releases data over Bihar Special Intensive Revision, says 5.76 lakh electors are now...
Patna: The Election Commission (EC) has so far found that over 5.76 lakh electors in Bihar are enrolled at multiple places and over 12.55 lakh have probably died. As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voters' list continues, official data also states that out of nearly 7.90 crore electors, over 35.69 lakh were not found at their addresses during the house-to-house visit of booth-level officers. According to data, over 17.37 lakh electors have probably permanently shifted. The poll authority underlined that the figures will change in the coming days. On July 14, the poll panel had said that as on that date, the names of over 6.60 crore or 83.66 per cent of the total 7.89 crore electors of Bihar will be included in the draft electoral roll to be published on August 1. The figures would change later. The list will include all electors whose forms have been received by the deadline. Focused efforts through newspaper advertisements and direct contact are being made with electors who may have temporarily migrated out of the state to ensure that they are able to fill their enumeration forms (EFs) well in time and have their names also included in the draft roll. The EC said as of Thursday, 89.7 per cent of the existing electors (7.08 crore) have given their EFs to be included in the draft electoral roll. To re-verify the electors who have not been found at their addresses even after three visits of BLOs, the information on such persons who are probably deceased, permanently shifted or have enrolled at multiple places is being shared with district presidents of political parties and the 1.5 lakh booth-level agents appointed by them so that the exact status of such electors can be confirmed by them before July 25. Special camps are also being set up in all the 5,683 wards of all 261 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Bihar to facilitate the voters.


Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Has EC become BJP's 'election chori branch': Rahul Gandhi slams poll body's Bihar SIR
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that the Election Commission has been caught "red handed" stealing votes in the name of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, and asked whether the poll body has completely become BJP's 'Election chori branch'. The EC has all along maintained that the revision, being held after 22 years, will cleanse the voters' list of ineligible people, duplicate entries and include those eligible as per law to vote. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category PGDM Public Policy CXO Others Operations Management Product Management Management Data Science Degree Finance Technology Digital Marketing MCA Data Analytics healthcare Healthcare Project Management Artificial Intelligence Data Science Design Thinking MBA Leadership Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis & Decision Making Quantitative & Analytical Skills Organizational Management & Leadership Innovation & Entrepreneurship Duration: 24 Months IMI Delhi Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Online) Starts on Sep 1, 2024 Get Details Gandhi shared a post by Ajit Anjum, whose YouTube channel is running a series on special intensive revision ( SIR ) of electoral rolls in Bihar. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2 Insane Cards Now Charging 0% Interest Until Nearly 2027 CompareCredit Undo "Election Commission in Bihar has been caught red handed stealing votes in the name of 'SIR'. Work - just theft but name is 'SIR' and FIR will be lodged against the one who exposes it!" Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. 'Is EC still 'Election Commission' or has it completely become BJP's 'Election Chori' branch?" the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Live Events Anjum has been accused of spreading communal tensions in Begusarai district by the local administration. He had denied the allegation and shared a screenshot of an FIR lodged against him. Opposition parties have asserted that the ongoing exercise will disfranchise crores of eligible Indian citizens for the want of citizenship documents. On Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar thanked the eligible voters of Bihar for their active participation in the "much-needed" cleaning of the electoral rolls during SIR. Kumar's remarks came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court hearing a clutch of pleas questioning the intent behind the SIR ahead of the assembly polls in the state later this year.


Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
EC's SIR in Bihar should serve as a template for other states
As the special drive launched in Bihar by the Election Commission of India to rid the electoral rolls of all errors enters its fourth week, some positives are already visible. The booth-level officers (BLOs), who have fanned out across the state to distribute and collect the enumeration forms, while moving around from one house to another in the areas covered by their respective booths, have found that 1.59 per cent of voters had died in the intervening period. This translates to a whopping 12.5 lakh electors. Another 2.2 per cent, whose names appeared on the voter list, had migrated to other states. This amounts to 17.5 lakh voters in a state with a total voter base of 7.90 crore. As many as 5.5 lakh voters, or 0.73 per cent, had their names appearing at two places in the electoral roll. The voters of Bihar, it is clear, have given their thumbs-up to the drive, and delivered a snub to the parties that have been trying to create doubts about the ECI's decision to go in for a 'Special Intensive Revision (SIR)'' of the electoral roll. This could be deduced from the fact that the BLOs had, till July 15, succeeded in disbursing enumeration forms to 88.18 per cent of the voters. Of these, 83.66 per cent had submitted their filled-up forms to the BLOs. By the time the first phase of the SIR draws to a close, it is estimated that almost all bona fide citizens of the state will have been covered. It follows that the names of people who fail to provide any citizenship proof will have to be deleted from the electoral roll. As reported widely in the media, the Election Commission, during the course of its drive to collect filled-up enumeration forms, stumbled upon several illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. They had, over a period of time, somehow found their way into the voter list, despite the fact that they had failed to submit any citizenship proof. Former Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal, the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, while speaking to newspersons in Patna on July 9, laid threadbare the conspiracy launched by the Opposition parties to shore up their fortunes in the districts close to Bangladesh by demanding the inclusion of Aadhaar as proof of citizenship. 'In Kishanganj district, the number of Aadhaar cards in circulation is an impossible 105 per cent. In neighbouring Araria, the figure is marginally lower at 103 per cent. It is clear that a whole lot of illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have succeeded in laying their hands on Aadhaar cards,'' he pointed out. He also alleged that since June 25, when the SIR was rolled out in Bihar, there had been a scramble among the people of Kishanganj to procure proofs of residence. 'As many as 2.27 lakh people had filled up forms for address proofs. This amounts to 27 per cent of the district's population. How is this possible? It is evident that the people behind this are Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, who want to smuggle their way into the voter list,'' the BJP leader said. The election watchdog needs to be lauded for deciding to go in for electoral roll revision in the state on such a massive scale. Its success should serve as a template for similar campaigns in other states. In embarking on the SIR, the ECI is working strictly according to the mandate bestowed upon it by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, along with other provisions of the latter. In keeping with this, it asked the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)/District Election Officer to aid the ERO to fulfil the Constitutional mandate that 'every eligible person, as per Article 326 of the Constitution of India, read with Section 16 and 19 of the RPA, 1950, is enrolled as an elector'. The circular issued by the ECI on June 24, 2025, clearly mentioned that 'while carrying out the SIR of the electoral rolls, the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) of each Assembly constituency shall be responsible for ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out, while no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll'. This is not the first time that the ECI is undertaking such an exercise. It has done so several times in the past, across the country, or in individual states. In Bihar, the revision of electoral rolls on such a massive scale took place way back in 2003, when the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was at the helm in the state. The BJP and the NDA, in keeping with their resolve to play the role of a constructive Opposition, had offered full support to the SIR. Contrast this with the conduct of the Opposition parties in the state now. In an attempt to whip up popular frenzy and communal tension, the RJD-Congress-Left combine organised a bandh across the state on July 10. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi put in a token appearance during the protest march in Patna, held a day before the Supreme Court's hearing on a clutch of petitions against the SIR. The bandh failed to elicit any response in the state. The Opposition's attempts to erect roadblocks in the path of the SIR received a further setback when the Supreme Court declined to put a stay on the electoral roll revision. The SIR has built-in checks. The draft electoral roll will be unveiled on August 1. Individuals, civil society organisations and political parties will then get a full month's time to submit their objections. When it comes to matters of national security and interest, the Opposition parties should shun their narrow and parochial agendas and rise to the occasion. They have clearly failed the people of India. The writer is Member of Legislative Council in Bihar, and prabhari of Mizoram BJP