Special Intensive Revision over; final voter rolls for Bihar released
What's the story
The Election Commission of India has released the final electoral list for Bihar, completing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that drew so much controversy. The SIR was aimed at updating voter rolls by removing ineligible voters and adding missing ones. However, it faced heavy criticism from opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, who accused the commission of trying to benefit the ruling coalition ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.
Roll updates
65 lakh voters removed from draft rolls
The SIR process, conducted after 22 years, removed 65 lakh voters from the draft rolls. These included deceased persons, those who moved out of Bihar permanently, and those registered at multiple locations. The final rolls also saw a significant increase in voter numbers across districts. Muzaffarpur district's voter count increased by 88,108 to 32,91,478, while Patna and Nawada districts saw increases of 1,63,600 and 30,491, respectively.
Legal oversight
Supreme Court hearing petitions challenging SIR process
The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions challenging the SIR process. On September 8, it directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as proof of identity for adding voters to the list, along with 11 other documents. However, it reiterated that Aadhaar cannot be used to establish citizenship. Justices Surya Kant and Joymlaya Bagchi observed that they would intervene and set aside the entire process if any illegality was found.
Future proceedings
Election dates likely to be announced after EC visit
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 7. The Election Commission will also visit Bihar on October 4 and 5 to review poll preparedness. Election dates are likely to be announced after this visit. Voters can check their names at https://voters.eci.gov.in/. The updated electoral rolls have also been uploaded to the same web address.