TDP Raises Alarm Over Ongoing Special Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls In Bihar, Echoes Opposition Concerns

In the first sign of cracks appearing in the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, the Telugu Desam Party, a key BJP ally, has expressed reservations about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and the proposed countrywide SIR, echoing concerns raised by the Opposition INDIA bloc and other parties.

A TDP delegation, which met the Chief Election Commissioner and the two election commissioners, said the EC must clearly define the modalities of the SIR and also explicitly communicate that it is not related to citizenship verification. By raising red flags on several issues, including the timeline of the SIR, which in the case of Bihar is just months ahead of the polls, the TDP has made its position clear.

Elections in Andhra Pradesh are due only in 2029, but the TDP is clearly apprehensive that large sections of its vote bank will be left out of the electoral process. With the Bihar SIR making 2003 the base year, the TDP has asserted that those enrolled in the most recently certified electoral rolls should not have to re-establish their eligibility unless there are specific and valid reasons.

It quoted the Supreme Court judgement that prior inclusion creates a presumption of validity, and any deletion must be preceded by a proper inquiry. The TDP also flagged high levels of seasonal migration from coastal and rural Andhra and said temporary address proof must be accepted by the poll officers to enable them to vote.

The storm over the Bihar SIR has reached the Supreme Court, with the top court hearing the matter but declining to stay the exercise in the interim. The next hearing is on July 28. The EC announced the SIR in Bihar on June 24. Now the state’s 7.9 crore voters must fill in enumeration forms if they want their names on the electoral rolls.

The deadline for submitting the enumeration forms is July 25. Among the 11 documents to be submitted for proof of eligibility, Aadhaar, voter ID cards and PAN cards are not acceptable, though these very documents were valid for previous elections. This has created great disquiet among voters and opposition parties alike, who see it as a backdoor attempt to bring in the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The NDA’s Bihar allies, Nitish Kumar’s JD-U and Chirag Paswan’s Lok LJP, have been silent on the SIR, with the latter lambasting the Opposition agitation, but it is clear that apprehensions abound given that elections in the state are only months away. The INDIA bloc’s accusation of the exercise being a bid to disenfranchise voters is not entirely misplaced because it is being conducted in unholy haste. With its trusted ally, the TDP, firing the first salvo, the BJP may be forced to rethink its plan, obviously drawn up with an eye on electoral prospects.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charge that the Maharashtra Assembly election was rigged may well be repeated if the EC does not clarify why it embarked on this poll revision exercise just ahead of the Bihar election and how and when it plans to conduct the SIR nationwide.

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