Bihar Election: Know what is the controversy over the voter list in Bihar?

Bihar Election: There is a lot of controversy going on in Bihar regarding the voter list, especially before the upcoming assembly elections 2025. This controversy is about several issues:

1. The process of Special Intensive Revision "विशेष गहन पुनरीक्षण" (SIR)

Election Commission's purpose: The Election Commission says that this process is necessary to include eligible voters in the voter list and remove the names of ineligible (such as dead, shifted or absent) voters. They say that there has been no intensive revision in Bihar since 2004, due to which many ineligible people have been able to obtain voter ID cards.

Opposition's allegations: Opposition parties allege that this is a conspiracy to deprive the poor, Dalits, tribals, OBC community and minorities of their right to vote at the behest of the ruling party. They say that verification of such a large number of voters is not possible in such a short time (25 days). They are also questioning its timing, as the Lok Sabha elections have recently been held.

2. Dispute over required documents

The Election Commission has directed that every voter must submit a personal enumeration form.
Proof of citizenship: People born after 1987 and included in the voter list after January 1, 2003 will have to provide proof of their citizenship through birth certificate, passport or any educational certificate.
Opposition's concern: The opposition says that a large number of people in Bihar do not have these documents, especially rural and poor people, due to which they can be excluded from the voter list. Some opposition parties are also calling it a "secret NRC".
Clarification of the Election Commission: The Election Commission has said that if a person's name was in the 2003 voter list, or their parents' name was in the 2003 list, then they do not need to submit any additional documents, they only have to confirm their information. However, Aadhaar card, PAN card, ration card and driving license have not been considered valid documents for this process.

3. Timeline and transparency of the process

Opposition parties are questioning how it is possible to verify 8 crore voters in 25 days when the caste survey took 9 months.

The Election Commission has engaged 77,895 BLOs (Booth Level Officers) and 20,603 additional BLOs. They have said that the preliminary voter list will be published on August 1, 2025 and the final list will be released on September 30, 2025.

However, the opposition is questioning the transparency of the process and the intent behind it.

4. Political allegations and counter-allegations

Opposition parties like Congress, RJD, CPI and AIMIM have met the Election Commission on the issue and made serious allegations.

The Congress has questioned whether all the elections conducted since 2003 were rigged. Tejashwi Yadav has even accused the Election Commission of "match fixing" and working at the behest of the BJP.

At the same time, the Election Commission and the ruling party are denying these allegations and saying that its purpose is to include only eligible voters.

Overall, the revision of the voter list in Bihar has become a big political issue, on which the opposition is accusing the Election Commission and the ruling party of snatching the rights of the voters and trying to manipulate the elections.