By P.K.Balachandran  

Colombo, July 27 – Massive disenfranchisement is feared ahead of the November elections to the State Legislature of Bihar in North India because of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll being done by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

More than 640,000 out of the 76 million electorate in Bihar are likely to lose their right to vote as they had not been counted in the SIR either due to their absence from the State or because they had not submitted any of the 11 documents needed to be given as proof of eligibility.

More than 7% of Bihar’s population, mostly labourers, are generally out of the State for employment and may not have been present for counting.  And few in the socially and economically backward Bihar State may have had any of the 11 documents needed for being counted as a voter.

To the dismay of most people, documents of identity that most Indians now possess, were not considered valid by the SIR.   The commonly used identity cards are the Aadhaar Card (needed for getting State aid and opening bank accounts);  Voter ID card previously issued by the ECI; and the Ration Card deemed valid for getting food grains in government-run fair price shops.

Controversial 11 Documents

The 11 documents considered by the  SIR to be valid for eligibility to vote are – (1) Any Identity card/Pension Payment Order issued to the regular employees of any Central Govt/State Govt/Public Sector Undertaking; (2) Any Identity Card/Certificate/Document issued in India by Government/Local Authorities/Banks/ Post Office/LIC/PSU prior to 01.07.1987; (3) Birth Certificate issued by the Local Registrar of Births and Deaths or the village government secretary, Block Development Officer or a Primary Health Centre medical officer, Municipal Corporations and Councils; (4) Birth Certificates of the father and mother, if alive; (5) Passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); (6) Matriculation Certificate;(7) Residence or Domicile certificate issued by competent State Authority: (8) Forest Right Certificate given to forest tribes; (9) Caste certificate issued by the Competent authority; (10) Family Register prepared by State/Local authorities; (11) Land/house allotment certificate given by the government.

However, not many people have these documents. As per the Bihar Caste Survey 2022, only 1.57% of the State’s population was in government or para State services. In 2000, the year from which the Registrar General of India began recording data, Bihar registered only 3.7% of the estimated births that year. The total number of passports issued in Bihar till 2023 covered only 2% of the population.

As per Bihar Caste Survey 2022, only 14.71% of the State were matriculates. As per data of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as on June 1, 2025, Bihar had received only 4,696 claims under the Forest Rights Act and just 191 claims were admitted. There is no data available on castes. As per the Socio Economic & Caste Census 2011, 65.58% of rural households in Bihar did not own any land.

Making these documents necessary to get the vote is tantamount to disenfranchising millions, human rights activists said.   

Detecting Illegal Immigrants

According to ECI’s instructions, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) concerned could flag “cases of suspected foreign nationals” under the Citizenship Act. A person not having any of the 11 documents could be well suspected to be an illegal immigrant, detained in special camps and deported or pushed across the border.  Muslim voters specially could be denied registration on the suspicion that they are Bangladeshi or Nepalese illegal migrants. 

Other Flaws  

Social activist Yogendra Yadav and YouTuber Ajit Anjum have exposed the fraudulent ways in which the ECI has been collecting data. As per the ECI’s directions, each Booth Level Officer (BLO) should visit each household and distribute the Enumeration Form in duplicate with pre-printed details of existing electors. The BLO is supposed to visit each household in his booth twice. But the BLOs did not visit twice, and given the impossible deadlines, they could not. And people were given only one form and not two, mostly.

Video journalist Ajit Anjum released a number of reports exposing  the SIR’s biggest fraud, namely, enumeration forms being filled in by the BLO without the voter’s consent or even knowledge. At least 25% of the total forms filled in could belong to this fraudulent category, Yadav says.

Many forms were submitted without attaching any document. Given this situation, the ECI said that the documents could be submitted later. But till they are submitted, the voter cannot vote.   

Observers point to the unscientific method adopted by the ECI and charge that the ECI’s intention is to manipulate the electoral roll to suit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

 “It is not too late for it to acknowledge the reality and cease this experiment,” Yadav said.

Supreme Court Hearing

The SIR was challenged in the Indian Supreme Court by civil rights groups and political parties. The petitioners said that to deny the right to vote would be a violation of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules 1960. Universal Adult Franchise is a fundamental principle of the India constitution and disenfranchising people on a mass scale would be unconstitutional, they argued.

But Rakesh Dwivedi, ECI’s counsel submitted that the last Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar had taken place in 2003 and an intensive revision was therefore required as mandated under Article 326 read with Section 21(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950.

The ECI also maintained that documents such as Aadhaar Cards, Voter Identity Cards (EPIC), or Ration cards could not serve as conclusive proof of citizenship. The ECI asserted its constitutional authority to demand credible evidence of citizenship, like passports or domicile certificates.  

On July 10, the court asked the ECI to consider accepting the Aadhaar card, Voter ID Card and Ration card because these are held by most voters.

The Court did not stop the SIR but advised flexibility and transparency and posted the next hearing to July 28. The finalised electoral role is to be announced on August 1.

Threat of Boycott

The Leader of Opposition in the lower house of parliament, Congress party MP Rahul Gandhi, alleged that the EC was attempting to steal votes in Bihar as it did earlier in Maharashtra and Karnataka.  

“In Bihar, the right to vote is under threat – an old conspiracy in a new form. There is a pattern here – new votes are being added while existing voters are being removed in one constituency after another,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Tejaswi Yadav leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has suggested that the opposition parties boycott the Bihar elections.

END