Special intensive revision of poll rolls in Bihar stirs political stand-off
The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar has turned into a major political stand-off between the Congress-led Opposition and the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Never in the history of Independent India has a constitutional body directly led a confrontation with national-level political parties. However, here we are witnessing a slanging match on a daily basis, with the opposition levelling serious allegations on the BJP-ruled NDA Government using the poll panel as a tool to bring NRC through back door, while the ECI has been countering these allegations by ‘fact checking’ all of them, citing provisions of the Representation of People Act (1951).
While the Congress has termed SIR as the “worst attack on the basic structure of the Constitution”, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has said that pure electoral rolls are inevitable for strengthening democracy.
The poll panel has maintained that there is nothing extraordinary in the exercise, as it was conducted in Bihar in 2003 also. Pertinent to note here, however, is that then, it was conducted two years prior to the 2005 Assembly elections. This time, the SIR is being conducted virtually at the eleventh hour, with assembly elections just four months away.
More significantly, in 2003 voters had only filled up the enumeration forms and submitted to booth-level officers (BLOs), whereas in the ongoing SIR, the voters have been sent on a hunt for documents which prove their domicile as local residents. The most identifiable document – Aadhaar – is not part of the set of 11 documents, which have been earmarked by the ECI as required to be submitted by voters with BLOs during SIR.
As a result, while political parties have termed this pre-condition as part of a plan to exclude millions of poor and migrant voters, the voter in Bihar is asking that why within a span of a few days, proof of his-her domicile as a resident of the state is being sought. Crores of Bihar voters, who had just last year voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, are now being asked to prove their identity as bonafide residents of the state.
Moreover, the speculation within political circles is that with the SIR having stirred a hornet’s nest in the politically crucial state like Bihar, is it a precursor to a similar exercise which might be launched in the forthcoming Assembly elections due in 2026 in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
If it indeed happens, then it will lead to some serious socio-political consequences, which might become too sensitive for even the government of the day to handle.
The ECI has been maintaining that the exercise is being conducted in Bihar as it has been a more than 20 years since the last such exercise was held in 2003 and it is essential to weed out illegal immigrants, include young citizens who have become eligible to vote, and also due to frequent migration and rapid urbanisation, voter base has undergone significant changes.
The question, however, still remains whether if this is the intention, then why was the SIR launched so late in the day as to result in a political chaos.
The opposition has questioned the intention and timing of the SIR and now it has been challenged in the Supreme Court, as a slew of political parties and leaders have petition the apex court.
The courts may give a verdict on the matter in the near future, the question, however, remains, what does a common voter stands to gain from the entire conundrum?
However, CEO Vinod Singh Gunjiyal clarified, “SIR in Bihar is progressing as per the EC’s order dated June 24, 2025…All measures are being taken to facilitate the existing electors to complete the documentation. These existing voters will have time to submit the documents even after first submitting their enumeration forms. All activities are exactly as per the EC’s order dated June 24, 2025.”
Delhi