Cong slams poll panel over Bihar voter list revision

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday strongly criticized the Election Commission, accusing it of orchestrating the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar to benefit the BJP.

He claimed that the process was marred by irregularities and aimed at providing political advantage to the ruling party.

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“The Election Commission has orchestrated the entire SIR drama at the behest of the BJP… Functioning as the B-team of the BJP, the Election Commission has descended into complete shamelessness,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“Will Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar explain how 247 voters were found in a single household and why one person’s name appears 3-3 times on the same booth?”

The Election Commission had initiated the SIR process to verify the eligibility of voters and ensure accurate electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. However, the opposition parties, including the Congress and RJD, have raised concerns over the process, alleging that it would be used to disenfranchise voters, particularly the poor and marginalized.

Ramesh pointed out numerous instances of irregularities in the final voter list, including the deletion of eligible voters and duplication of names. He also expressed concern that in some assembly constituencies, the number of voters’ names being deleted exceeds the victory margin from the previous elections.

Ramesh demanded that the Election Commission work impartially and not rush to complete the SIR process, which he claimed was initiated to assist the BJP. “Instead of rushing to complete the SIR process initiated to assist the BJP, the Election Commission should work impartially,” he said.

The opposition parties have been alleging that the SIR process is aimed at rigging the elections in favor of the BJP. RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav claimed that despite their best efforts, the names of poor, Dalit, and extremely backward classes were not included in the list.

Ramesh’s criticism of the ECI, accusing it of orchestrating the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar to benefit the BJP, assumes added political significance as it comes at a time when the ECI delegation, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, is in Patna to review poll preparedness for the forthcoming Bihar Assembly polls.