Bihar Election: ECI Plans Door-To-Door Voter Check Amid Oppn Allegations Of Roll Manipulation — Report
As Bihar gears up for its assembly elections, expected in October-November this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is reportedly considering an intensive house-to-house verification drive to cleanse and update the electoral rolls. The potential move comes in response to ongoing concerns raised by political parties and civil society groups regarding alleged discrepancies in voter rolls.
While the Congress and other opposition parties have levelled accusations against the Commission for allegedly manipulating data to benefit the BJP, election officials maintain that the process is carried out with full transparency and under continuous scrutiny from all stakeholders, according to news agency PTI.
House-to-House Drive Likely to Ensure Roll Purity
Sources told PTI that the poll panel is contemplating a rigorous door-to-door verification process during the revision of electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. This initiative is intended to eliminate errors and bolster the integrity of the voter list.
Officials underscored that despite strict adherence to procedural protocols, the ECI frequently faces allegations of arbitrarily inflating the voter rolls. The last time such an exhaustive verification exercise was carried out was in 2004, they added.
High-Stakes Political Battle Looms In Bihar
Top political figures in Bihar — including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, and Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor — have already begun preparations for the high-stakes contest. With the political atmosphere charged, all eyes are on evolving seat-sharing formulas and the naming of a chief ministerial candidate.
The upcoming election will also mark the first major electoral test since ‘Operation Sindoor’, making it a significant political moment for the state.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who has now donned the hat of a politician, has pledged to contest the 2025 Bihar assembly polls not as a backroom strategist, but as a candidate in the fray.
Speaking to India Today in May last year, Kishor had declared, “Jan Suraaj will contest [all] 242 assembly seats [in Bihar] and will come to power with a majority.”
Although his party failed to make a mark in the November 2024 bypolls — with most candidates forfeiting their deposits — Kishor remained unfazed, pointing out that Jan Suraaj secured 10 per cent of the total votes across four seats.
In a boost to his fledgling party, former Union Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has merged his outfit, Aap Sabki Awaz, with Jan Suraaj, a move that could broaden the party’s base ahead of the polls.
Bihar’s political chessboard witnessed a major shift last year when Nitish Kumar ended his alliance with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and returned to the NDA fold ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The forthcoming assembly polls will test the durability of this alliance realignment and set the tone for the state’s political future.
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