Patna, India – Despite the Election Commission of India's (ECI) efforts through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) alleges that the initiative has fallen short of its goals, failing to eliminate a substantial number of duplicate voters. While the ECI aimed to "purify" the voter list, concerns remain about the integrity of the electoral roll ahead of future elections.
The ECI initiated the SIR to address discrepancies in Bihar's voter list following complaints from political parties over the past 20 years. The poll body identified several issues, including deceased voters, migrated electors, and duplicate registrations. The ECI reported discovering 1.8 million deceased voters, 2.6 million electors who had moved to other constituencies, and 700,000 duplicate voters. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar stated that the SIR was necessary to rectify these issues, acknowledging that some individuals knowingly or unknowingly possessed multiple voter cards due to migration and other factors.
However, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has challenged the ECI's claims of a "purified" voter roll. An investigation by The Reporters' Collective revealed over 1.4 million suspected duplicate voters and 13.2 million entries with fictitious addresses. This investigation analyzed the final voter list for all 243 constituencies in Bihar, finding that systemic problems identified in the draft roll were not corrected. The report highlighted cases where voters' names, relatives' names, and ages were exact matches on multiple IDs, and instances where numerous individuals were registered at single, non-existent addresses.
Researchers Yogendra Yadav and Rahul Shastri conducted a separate analysis, revealing that the revision process led to the exclusion of approximately 8 million eligible voters and disproportionately removed Muslims from the final list. Their audit indicated that the proportion of eligible adults on the voter roll decreased from 97% to 88%, and that Muslims, comprising 16.9% of Bihar's population, accounted for 33% of the names deleted between the draft and final lists.
ADR has been critical of the ECI's approach throughout the SIR process. The organization questioned the ECI's authority to verify voters' citizenship, citing Supreme Court rulings that place the burden of proving citizenship on new applicants, not those already on the rolls. ADR also criticized the exclusion of Aadhaar cards as valid proof of identity, calling it "patently absurd". Furthermore, ADR raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the SIR process, noting that the ECI did not provide a detailed assembly-wise list of the 6.5 million names deleted from the voter list. The organization argued that this lack of transparency hindered the ability to cross-check details from the ground.
The Supreme Court has also weighed in on the matter, emphasizing the need for transparency and due process in the deletion of names from electoral rolls. The court stated that a voter's name cannot be removed without assigning reasons, reinforcing the importance of judicial oversight in preventing disenfranchisement.
As Bihar approaches future elections, the concerns raised by ADR and others highlight the need for continued efforts to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voter list. While the ECI's SIR aimed to address discrepancies, the persistence of duplicate voters and the potential exclusion of eligible voters remain significant challenges.
