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The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
India's democracy is failing the migrant citizen
In a democracy of 1.4 billion, every vote matters. But for millions of migrants from Bihar, democracy is quietly leaving them behind. A silent crisis is unfolding, where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of State electoral rolls, and at short notice, has led to the mass deletion of nearly 3.5 million migrants (4.4% of the total voters). These are the migrants who have been labelled as 'permanently migrated' for being absent during house-to-house verification. These voters now face permanent disenfranchisement not just in their places of work but also at home. In a State where migration is not just an economic choice but also a survival strategy, this sweeping administrative action is threatening to erase millions from India's democratic record. For decades, out-migration has sustained Bihar's economy and its households. Locked homes, especially among poor and most vulnerable migrants, are a common sight across villages. Increasingly, migrants either migrate with their families or shift their families to marital homes for their care and safety. Yet, this reality of circular and split-family migration is now being read by the state as an abandonment of electoral rights. The 'sedentary citizen' is the issue The deeper issue lies in India's electoral infrastructure, which is still designed around a sedentary citizen. Voter registration is tethered to proof of residence and in-person verification. But for migrant workers — many live in rented rooms, at construction sites, on foot paths or in slums — such documentation is either unavailable or denied. This exclusion deepens in the context of regionalism and sub-nationalism, where migrants are often seen as job-stealers or political threats. Growing demands for job quotas in private sectors and strict domicile-based norms for government jobs reflect the larger political sentiments, which curtails the political inclusion of migrants. In host States, migrants are treated as outsiders and fears of altered electoral outcomes fuel resistance to their enfranchisement. It discourages voter registration at destinations. As a result, migrants remain stuck: unable to register in destination States, and now removed from their origin rolls. The findings of a study A Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai study in November 2015, funded by the Election Commission of India, titled 'Inclusive Elections in India: A Study on Domestic Migration and Issues in Electoral Participation', confirmed the marginalisation of migrants in a host State's electoral processes. The study identifies a triple burden — administrative barriers, digital illiteracy, and social exclusion — preventing a migrant from effectively participating in electoral processes. Crucially, the study found that lower voter turnout was directly correlated with the higher migration rates in the source States. And yet, rather than bridging this turnout gap, Bihar's SIR initiative is widening the democratic deficit. This is not just a bureaucratic failure. It is a democratic rupture. The average turnout rate in Bihar's last four Assembly elections was only 53.2%, the lowest among major Indian States. In contrast, Gujarat and Karnataka — States with fewer outbound migrants — reported an average of a turnout of 66.4% and 70.7%, respectively, in the last four elections. Our own estimates, based on mobile visitor location register data, suggest an annual outflow of approximately seven million circular migrants from Bihar. Out of this number, 4.8 million migrate seasonally between June and September. However, half of them (2.7 million) return home during the festivals of Durga Puja, Chhath and Deepavali between October and November. This year, where there will be an Assembly election, many of the return migrants will be unable to vote as their names have been struck off. Without coordination with destination States to verify or re-enrol these voters, the deletion process becomes a de facto disenfranchisement of the poor migrants. The limited uptake of the 'One Nation One Ration Card' Scheme in the last six years, since its launch in 2019 (nation-wide portability of ration card holders under National Food Security Act, 2013), underscores the constraints of migrants in the host States. Most migrants from Bihar avail rations in their home State, with only 3.3 lakh households availing portability in destination States as of May 2025. Dual residency, fear of losing entitlements and bureaucratic hurdles deter transfers. The same logic applies to voter IDs — they keep origin-based documents not because they are indifferent to civic duties, but because they lack security and acceptance in host States. This dual belonging — economic participation in host States, political identity in home States — is now being demonised by the state. Migrants are being told bluntly that 'if you're not home when we knock, your right to vote vanishes'. Along the 1,751 kilometre-long open India-Nepal border, the issue becomes even more complex. The region has long celebrated the 'roti-beti ka rishta', a tradition of cross-border economic and marital ties. Many Nepali and Indian women migrate post-marriage, yet new documentation norms and restrictive citizenship interpretations now threaten their legal and electoral status. Here, disenfranchisement is not just regional or class-based but also gendered and xenophobic. Time for a portable identity system The way forward is clear. India must move toward portable, flexible, and mobile voter identity systems. The Election Commission of India must halt blanket deletions of migrants and adopt a cross-verification model with destination State voter rolls. Civil society and local governance bodies such as panchayats should be empowered to conduct migrant outreach and re-registration drives. It is high time that the Kerala model of migration surveys should be replicated among high internal migration origin States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. If these steps are not taken, India risks scripting the largest silent voter purge in post-Independence India — a purge not of enemies, but of the hard-working poor who leave home only in search of bread, dignity and work. S. Irudaya Rajan is Chair, International Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala. Arif Nizam is an independent migration researcher based in Bihar
News18
2 days ago
- Business
- News18
IIM To Be Established In Guwahati, Lok Sabha Passes Bill With Rs 550 Crore Support
Last Updated: The Assam government requested the establishment of an IIM in the state, considering its geographical location and overall development needs. The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to establish the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati, with the Union government providing Rs 550 crore in capital support. The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, passed amid noise in the Lower House, will facilitate the creation of the second IIM in the Northeast, following Shillong. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as the Opposition continued their protest over the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Following the bill's passage through a voice vote, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day. According to the draft law, the Centre, the Assam government, and representatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) for the comprehensive development of the state. The establishment of an IIM in Guwahati, as an institution of national importance, is part of the Special Development Package (SDP) provided to Assam. Currently, there are 21 IIMs declared as institutions of national importance, each specified in the Schedule to the IIM Act. The bill states that until the first Board of IIM Guwahati is constituted under this Act, all powers and functions that may be exercised or performed by such Board will be exercised and performed by individuals as directed by the central government. Establishing an IIM in Assam will significantly enhance education and development in the region, providing students from the North Eastern Region of India with valuable opportunities to develop managerial skills, the bill stated. With this upgrade, IIM Guwahati will become the 22nd IIM and the second in the North-East. The city is already home to prestigious institutions such as IIT Guwahati, AIIMS Guwahati, and National Law University Assam. view comments First Published: 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. Loading comments...
India Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Targeting voters keeping gun on Election Commission: Poll body on ‘vote chori'
The Election Commission of India on Sunday rebuked Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his 'vote chori' (vote theft) allegation and accused political parties of targeting voters while placing the blame on the Election directly to political rhetoric, the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, 'When politics is being done by targeting the voters of India by keeping a gun on the shoulder of the Election Commission, today the Election Commission wants to make it clear to everyone that the Election Commission fearlessly stood like a rock with all the voters of all sections and all religions including the poor, rich, elderly, women, youth without any discrimination, is standing and will continue to stand.' advertisementChief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, addressing a press conference, said the Commission remains committed to its constitutional duty and treats all political parties equally. 'Every political party is registered with the Election Commission. How can the Commission discriminate between them? For us, all are equal,' Kumar said. 'The EC will not step back from its constitutional duty, regardless of which party is involved.'Responding to claims of double voting, the Commission said some voters had raised the issue, but no proof was submitted when asked. 'Neither the Election Commission nor any voter is afraid of such false allegations,' it the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Kumar said the process is transparent, with active participation from voters, political parties, and booth-level officers. 'All stakeholders are jointly verifying data, signing off on documents, and even providing video testimonials,' he said, adding that the Commission's doors remain open to also raised concerns that verified reports from the ground were not reaching top party leaders or were being selectively ignored, contributing to misinformation. 'More than seven crore voters in Bihar are standing with the EC. There is no question mark on the Commission's credibility or that of the voters,' he EC's remarks came hours after Rahul Gandhi launched his 1,300-km Voter Adhikar Yatra from Sasaram, Bihar, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Joined by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, Gandhi described the Yatra as a 'fight to save the Constitution.'The march will cover over 20 districts and is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc's campaign against alleged electoral irregularities.- EndsTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Bihar Assembly Elections#Rahul Gandhi
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"BJP's Vote Theft Has Been Caught, Poll Body Left Embarrassed": AAP Leader
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has backed the INDIA bloc's allegation of vote theft against the BJP, slamming the Election Commission (EC) for failing to uphold free and fair polls in the country. The BJP won elections by stealing votes in Delhi; that's why people are not turning up for its rallies even in the capital city, AAP leader Anurag Dhanda has alleged. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged irregularities in Karnataka's voter rolls during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He had also snubbed the EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar - an exercise that the poll body had justified as necessary to clean the lists of dead and duplicate voters. "The Election Commission wants to put the blame on political parties for what is their responsibility. The EC has been trying to justify the SIR, saying it wants to clean the voter list. But after the parties pointed out the faults in previous voter lists, the EC is now saying it was the parties' responsibility to fix the voter lists," Mr Dhanda, a leader from Haryana and AAP's national media in-charge, told news agency ANI. Mr Dhanda alleged the vote theft has now been caught and that it has left the EC "embarrassed". "Now, its collusion with the BJP has become public, which is why the Election Commission has started blaming political parties," he added. Responding to the criticism, the EC had earlier said that the parties are involved at all stages of preparation of the electoral rolls and that they did not raise objections in time. Mr Dhanda also shared what he claimed was a glaring example of the BJP-EC collusion. "The BJP won the Delhi elections by stealing votes. The AAP raised several allegations before the EC, but it didn't hear us and helped the BJP. The result is that people are not turning up for even the Prime Minister's rallies in Delhi. MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) staff and teachers are being ordered to attend BJP rallies even on holidays. It is the EC's responsibility to keep a check on this," he said. "We repeatedly complained that fake voters are being added, and authentic ones are being erased. This exposes the collusion of the BJP and the EC," said the AAP leader. When asked about the BJP's denial of the Opposition's allegations, he sought to know why they are worried if the charges lacked substance. "Why is the BJP worried if the issue was not real? The EC alone could have responded to the charges," he said. But the poll body is not able to answer the Opposition's queries on how it failed to keep the voter list sanitised, asserted Mr Dhanda. Meanwhile, Mr Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the EC this afternoon, stepping up the Opposition's campaign against what he claims is "vote chori (theft)". He alleged a "new conspiracy" to steal votes by deleting and adding voters in election-bound Bihar through the SIR exercise. "We will not let them steal elections in Bihar," he declared while launching his 1,300-km 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
EC can't discriminate among political parties: CEC on voter fraud charge
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday replied to the Opposition's charge of alleged voter fraud in electoral roll, saying that the poll panel cannot discriminate among political parties. Addressing a press conference, Kumar said, "We saw a few days ago that photos of many voters were presented to the media without their permission. Allegations were made against them, they were used. Should the Election Commission share the CCTV videos of any voter including their mothers, daughters-in-law, daughters? Only those whose names are in the voter list cast their votes to elect their candidate." Speaking about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, the chief election commissioner said at least 1,60,000 booth Level agents have prepared a draft list. "As this draft list was being prepared in every booth, the booth level agents of all political parties verified it with their signatures. Voters have submitted a total of 28,370 claims and objections," he said. "At the ground level, all the voters, all the political parties and all the booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner, verifying, signing and also giving video testimonials. It is a matter of serious concern that these verified documents, testimonials of the district presidents of political parties and the BLOs nominated by them are either not reaching their own state level or national level leaders or an attempt is being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground reality," Kumar added. (This is a developing story. Stay tuned)
