[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar has revealed the true intent of the Election Commission of India (ECI). It is now clear that their main objective is to strip ordinary people of their right to vote. Though it began in Bihar, this process is expected to spread across the country — with West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha being mentioned next. The people of Bihar have already begun resisting; our turn will come soon. We must understand what is happening — and prepare to fight back.
At first glance, one might think — what’s wrong if the electoral rolls are being corrected? Isn’t it good to make the voters’ list as accurate as possible? If it were truly that simple, there would be no reason for objection. But a closer look at the details — beyond what the Election Commission says — reveals a very different picture. So let us examine the issue carefully, point by point.
- What Is “Special” About This Revision?
The SIR is not just an ordinary correction of the rolls. The voter list in Bihar had already been revised just a few months earlier. So why another hurried revision right before the elections — and that too when large parts of Bihar were reeling under floods?
The answer is that this is not a revision at all — it is a completely new voter list being created, aimed at selectively denying legitimate voters their rights.
- Voting Rights and Constitutional Principles
According to India’s Constitution, every adult citizen has the right to vote, regardless of caste, religion, gender, or property. It is the duty of the Election Commission to ensure that every eligible citizen can exercise this right.
From the very beginning, India’s electoral process was inclusive. The first electoral roll of independent India was the largest in the world — it included everyone, irrespective of language, religion, caste, education, or wealth. The only condition was age — 21 years, later reduced to 18. Election officials would personally visit households to verify details and register voters.
While citizens could later apply on their own, the main responsibility to reach out and enrol people always lay with the Election Commission.
For the first time, however, that responsibility has been completely shifted onto the citizens themselves.
In Bihar, the process began on 24 June, and applicants were asked to submit forms by 25 July. The form required a recent photograph, signature, basic personal details, and proof of citizenship. Only those able to provide valid citizenship documents would have their names included in the final list.
Thus, the SIR effectively introduces the NRC (National Register of Citizens) process through the back door.
- The 2003 Baseline and Its Consequences
Under the SIR, the Election Commission declared that anyone whose name appeared in the 2003 voter list would automatically be considered a citizen.
People were asked to submit a copy of their 2003 voter record with correct name and unchanged address — only then would their names be retained in the new list.
The Commission claimed this would cover most voters.
Let us examine what that means for Bihar:
Before the SIR, Bihar’s voter list had 7.89 crore (78.9 million) names. The 2003 list had 4.96 crore (49.6 million) names. The ECI claimed that only 2.93 crore (29.3 million) people — about 37% of total voters — would need to reapply with citizenship proof.
But in reality, many of the 4.96 crore people from 2003 have either passed away or permanently migrated to other states. The effective number from that list is now around 3.16 crore.
This means 4.73 crore (47.3 million) people — about 60% of current voters — would need to prove their citizenship afresh.
- Three Categories of Documentation
Voters were divided into three groups for document submission:
- a) Those born before 1 July 1987 (aged 38 or above): if not in the 2003 list, they must submit a birth certificate.
b) Those born between 1 July 1987 and December 2003 (aged 22–38): must submit their own and either parent’s documents.
c) Those born after 2003: must submit their own and both parents’ documents.
For groups (b) and (c), the parent’s name must appear in the 2003 voter list, along with the voter’s birth certificate.
It is easy to see that most people do not have such documents. Recognising this, the Election Commission released a list of 11 documents that could serve as proof of citizenship.
However, the list was described as “indicative but not exhaustive” — meaning the Commission could accept or reject other documents at will.
- The Reality of Documentation in Bihar
Out of these 11 documents, six are practically useless in Bihar — either they don’t exist for most citizens or are extremely rare. That leaves only five usable documents.
Here is an estimate (The Indian Express, 2 July 2025, by Yogendra Yadav):
- Birth certificate: ~2.8%
- Passport: ~2.4%
- Government job or pension ID: ~5%
- Caste certificate: ~16%
- Educational certificate (secondary or above): ~35%
Meanwhile, the documents that most people do possess were not accepted:
- Voter ID: ~95%
- Aadhaar: ~93%
- Ration card: ~80%
In other words, only the relatively affluent or educated can provide the required documents. Even the educational certificate, the only widespread one among the accepted list, exposes deep inequalities. In India, access to education still depends heavily on caste, class, and gender.
Hence, the real targets of this process are economically weak, socially marginalised people — and especially women.
- The Draft List and the Mass Deletions
When the draft voter list was released on 1 August, 65 lakh (6.5 million) names were missing. Many more were at risk of exclusion for failing to provide documents.
The draft list was published in such a non-analytical format that it was impossible to determine why these names were deleted.
After public outrage and a Supreme Court intervention, the Commission released the data in a slightly more analysable format — but only booth by booth, preventing consolidated analysis.
Despite this, independent analysts examined the lists and found shocking irregularities:
- Thousands of duplicate entries;
- Voters listed under non-existent addresses;
- Living people marked as dead.
Facing growing criticism, the Supreme Court compelled the ECI to allow Aadhaar as a supporting document for inclusion.
But when the final list was published, the results were grim.
Before SIR: 7.89 crore names
Draft deletions: 65 lakh
Final deletions: 3.66 lakh more
New additions: 21.53 lakh
Final count: 7.42 crore — 47 lakh fewer voters than before.
The share of adults on the voter list dropped from 97% to 90%. Bihar has about 8.22 crore adults, meaning around 80 lakh people are now left without voting rights.
- Who Lost Their Right to Vote?
The excluded groups are mostly women, Muslims, Dalits, and migrant workers.
Historically, Bihar already had gender disparity in voter registration. In 2012, about 21 lakh women were missing from the rolls. By January 2025, that number had come down to 7 lakh.
After the SIR, it jumped again to 16 lakh.
Among those excluded from the draft list, 24.7% were Muslim; in the final list, that rose to 33%, even though Muslims constitute only 16.9% of Bihar’s population.
This shows the unconstitutional nature of the process — it effectively allocates voting rights based on gender, religion, and economic status, violating the core spirit of the Constitution.
Why, then, has the Supreme Court still not declared this process unconstitutional?
- The Myth of Foreign Infiltrators
The BJP and its allies, along with the ECI, justified the SIR on the grounds of “removing infiltrators” — mainly Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.
What did they actually find?
Out of millions of voters, only 390 names were removed as “foreigners”. Of these, only 87 were Muslim. Even for these, the Commission has refused to provide any details.
- The “Intensive” Nature of the Revision
The final Bihar voter list still contains:
- Over 24,000 fake names,
- 5.2 lakh duplicate entries,
- More than 51,000 entries without family linkage (no parent/spouse name),
- Over 2 lakh fake addresses, and
- 24 lakh families with 10 or more voters each — which even the ECI flagged as “suspicious.”
In many cases, the final list was actually worse than the draft.
Thus, the slogan of “cleaning the rolls” or “removing illegal voters” was merely a pretext to systematically disenfranchise the poor and marginalised.
- Political Control of the Election Commission
We must also recall the BJP government’s 2023 amendment to the appointment process of the Election Commission.
Previously, the selection committee consisted of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.
The new law replaced the Chief Justice with a Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister — currently Amit Shah.
This shows where the Commission’s loyalties now lie.
Additionally, new legal protection ensures that no civil or criminal cases can be filed against the Commission for actions taken “in the course of duty.”
- Lack of Transparency
The investigative group Reporters’ Collective filed RTIs seeking all files, correspondence, and reports behind the 24 June 2025 announcement of the SIR — including any “independent appraisal committee” reports mentioned in the ECI’s affidavit to the Supreme Court.
The Commission refused to share any of these records.
Why such secrecy in an institution that claims to be transparent?
The ECI shouts about “clean voter rolls” but hides its own processes from public scrutiny.
- Political Fallout in Bihar
Despite successfully manipulating past elections — including the 2024 Lok Sabha and state polls in Maharashtra and Haryana — the BJP-ECI alliance seems to be struggling in Bihar.
People have understood the conspiracy. The connection between the Election Commission and the BJP has become visible.
Huge crowds have gathered for the Voting Rights Marches led by Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Dipankar Bhattacharya, while BJP leaders have faced public anger.
In response, the BJP has tried three desperate tactics:
- Spreading rumours that terrorists from Pakistan have entered Bihar.
- Creating fake controversies by having their own people abuse Modi’s mother to spark outrage.
- Deploying pliant media outlets to conduct fabricated “Mood of the Nation” surveys showing Modi as the “undisputed leader” and predicting a BJP wave in Bihar.
But these attempts have largely failed. Yet, one can expect even bigger dramas ahead.
- The Larger Threat
As ordinary people suffer under the corporate control of Adani and Ambani, the BJP grows ever more desperate to retain power.
India’s democratic institutions are collapsing one by one. The BJP has captured one institution after another — from the High Courts and the Supreme Court benches to the Election Commission.
The Special Intensive Revision is an unconstitutional, undemocratic process designed to rob the poor of their voting rights, and perhaps eventually, their citizenship itself.
Once that happens, people will lose even the basic power to change their government. They will be reduced to near-bonded subjects.
The democratic rights that Indians won through the freedom struggle are now in grave danger.
We certainly want those rights to expand — but first, we must protect what we have already achieved.
The Election Commission’s conspiracy and its collaboration with the BJP have now been exposed in Bihar. The BJP finds itself cornered there. The struggle continues.
What is needed now is greater unity among anti-BJP forces, more active involvement of the Left, and wider participation of all democracy- and freedom-loving citizens.
