Understanding Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision: Key Features and Why it is in Controversy

It is the first activity in over twenty years that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is carrying out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state of Bihar. The overall idea of this extensive revision is informing the voter lists by adding eligible citizens and striking out uneligible persons. The exercise has elicited a lot of interest especially in light of the impending elections to the Bihar assembly.

Statutory rules to Revise Electoral Rolls

The Special Intensive Revision in Bihar is grounded on the constitutional and statutory powers, vested on the Election Commission.

Constitutional requirement (Article 324 and 326)

The Indian Constitution has conferred the powers of superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of voter roll of elections upon the Election Commission through article 324. This is the main mandate which comes first before elections are undertaken. The essential conditions of voter registration have been pronounced in the Article 326 stating that all the individuals being the citizen of India and having attained the age of eighteen on the qualifying date, who is not otherwise disqualified, shall be eligible to be registered in the electoral roll. The ECI insists that it is constitutionally mandated to make sure that only the Indian citizens are voters.

Representation of the people Act, 1950 (Representation of the People Act, 1950)

The legal framework of electoral rolls is also represented in the Representation of the People Act, 1950. In Section 16 of the Act, some reasons as to why the registering of a person should not occur are stated, especially that non-citizens should not register. A person has to be ordinarily resident in the constituency in which they are enrolled at the date of the section 19. Section 21 gives an institution to the modification of electoral rolls prior to each assembly or Lok Sabha election, and by-elections. A regular update is also done annually to reflect some changes like the voters reaching voting age or death or migration. Although the aim of the SIR is the same as what annual revisions are just that the SIR represents a greater sense of urgency and a more intrusive inspection.

Special Intensive Revision Features in Bihar

The Special Intensive Revision in Bihar is developed as a stringent program in order to make the electoral rolls accurate and non-corrupt.

Objective

The above aim of the SIR is to make sure that all the persons who are eligible are to be included under electoral rolls and thus they can enjoy their franchise, while on the same every person who is ineligible is to be removed. This involves removing duplicate entries, surnames of people who are deceased and those who are not anymore ordinarily resident in a specific constituency. It also focuses on the elimination of names of the suspected foreigners or unlawful immigrants.

House-to-House Verification

Bringing verification door-to-door by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) is a key part of the SIR. Around one lakh BLOs are deployed, in addition to which one lakh of volunteers help in this exercise. Their role will be to distribute the enumeration forms, help electors to fill them in and collect the enumeration forms with all the necessary documentation. BLOs in numerous instances are also capturing live photographs of electors so as to make the process easier.

Documentary Requirements

New applicants together with those whose name was not in the electoral roll of 2003 usually need to produce documentary evidence to show their eligibility in the electoral rolls such as citizenship, date of birth and place of birth. The ECI has additionally given an indicative list of documents which might be submitted and this list includes:

Any identity card/Pension Payment Order of a regular employee/pensioner of any central/state government or a Public Sector Unit(PSU).

any identity card/certificate/document issued in India by the government/ local authorities/banks/post office/LIC/PSUs in India in the pre-July 1, 1987 period.

• Birth certificate.
• Passport.
• School certificates, i.e., matriculation or otherwise.
• Immigrant card.
• Forest right certificate.
• Caste certificate.
• NRC (wherever exists).
• Local authorities family register.

It is important to point out that such documents as Aadhaar, voter identity cards (EPIC), and PAN cards have been omitted due to some reasons such as fear of illegal immigrants getting them.

Exemption of Entries on Electoral Roll 2003

One important clause included in SIR is that electors that their names were included in the Bihar electoral roll as of January 1, 2003, or their heirs, do not have to provide much documentary evidence. They would be given the chance based on the fact that their names are included in the list of 2003 and this would serve them well as evidence that they are eligible and have citizenship unless they are informed otherwise. The main thing that these individuals should do is to confirm information, complete the enumeration form and submit, and together with a copy of the 2003 roll is common in this case.

Stages and time line

Sir is designed in a number of phases. The first one is the distribution and collection of the enumeration forms. Preliminary election rolls will be published and claims and objections period will follow. Electoral Registration Officers (and Assistant EROs) investigate and determine these claims and objections. Publication of final electoral roll shall be issued on or before September 30, 2025.

Political Parties Role

The political parties are also considered to play active role in the SIR process by selecting Booth Level Agents (BLAs) at polling booths. Such agents may observe the drill, contend with any manipulation and provide complaints with district magistrates and Chief electoral officer in case required. In Bihar, it is said that more than 1.5 lakh BLA quota positions have been conceded by different political gatherings.

Polemicities of the Special Intensive Revision

Although the SIR has the legal validity as claimed by ECI, the exercise has been confronted with a major controversy among opposition parties and civil societies.

When the Revision will take place.

The main source of contention has been on the timing of the SIR which is being undertaken a few months before the Bihar state assembly elections. The opposition parties also say that a revision at this scale towards polls can be considered a nuance because it will show influence of some kind and can affect the composition of the electorate. The ECI, however, insists that it compulsory to go through revisions before each election and this intensive revisions were long overdue which last in the state of Bihar was done in 2003.

Tough Documentary Demands and Disenfranchisement Threats

The inclusion of mandatory documentary paper work has attracted much criticism as well as the omission of commonplace identification such as Aadhaar and EPIC. On the other hand, its critics claim that there is a good chance of a significant number of the citizens, especially in marginalized groups such as Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and migrant workers, to lack the requisite documents. Bihar is ranked substantially as a poverty-stricken area with a huge amount of migrant workforces who in most cases do not have birth certificates or parental backgrounds. It is feared that strict standards may simply take away the rights of lakhs of real voters arbitrarily. Though ECI has made it clear that individuals listed in 2003 roll or their offspring have made the demands half easier, there are anxieties over other people.

Onus of Proof on the citizens

The SIR critics claim that this lawman tendency of the SIR transfers the responsibility of the burden of proof to the citizen. The duty of voters, some even parents, to submit such documents is regarded as a cumbersome process particularly in the set deadlines. Ground stories are reporting that a lot of voters especially in villages and the marginalized groups are actually finding it hard to come up with the desired documents.

Effect on Labourers The pool of migrant workers was hit by spill over affecting the migrant work force.

Bihar is a state with large migrants. It has been noted that since some migrant workers live outside of the state to earn money, it will be hard to get them to be a part of the house-to-house verification and provide the required documents in the set time. Although ECI has asserted that no one Bihar migrant will lose his or her franchise and that they are to be registered where they are ordinarily resident, the issues of practically updating registration of the mobile population is an issue.

Aadhaar and other Common IDs Exclusion

Exclusion of Aadhaar, ration cards and MGNREGA cards as accepted means of identification was a move that has been highly criticized by ECI. Basing its argument, the ECI usually says that illegal immigrants may use such documents. But the opposition parties point out that Aadhaar has become a major way through which a number of government related services are provided; and a major identity document to a number. Some find it to be disproportionately disadvantaged to the poor and marginalized because of the exclusion of such widely held documents.

Accusations of Persecution of Certain Depopulations/Whether a Specific Region is Targeted

There has been accusation by some political parties that the SIR singles out areas where its parties are strong and those residence by minorities. Especial emphasis has been placed on such areas as Seemanchal, where the Muslim population is high and situated along the borders of Bangladesh and Nepal where the issue of illegal immigration has been communicated. These accusations leave a political drive to the rationale and structure of the revision.

Supreme Court Legal Problems

The SIR has been found very controversial extending to the Supreme Court of India. The petitions made by the civil society organizations such as the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and other opposition parties contend that the decision of ECI is arbitrary, unconstitutional and its time frame is impractical and may result in mass disenfranchisement. The Supreme Court has allowed listening to these pleas.

Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls Bihar is a complex exercise which is pegged down on the statutory and constitutional mandate of the Election Commission to maintain accurate lists of voters. Although according to ECI, the legal requirement and necessity are highlighted, and an aim is to include only the eligible Indian citizens, the process has brought an intense debate. The close nature of the documentary requirements, its timing, likelihood of disenfranchisement, effects of this on migrant workers, and exclusion of common IDs are serious factors that have contributed to general fear and legal opposition. Whether this amendment will succeed and how this will affect the upcoming Bihar elections is going to be monitored.