Defending need for SIR in the Supreme Court, Election Commission cites parties’ complaints about voter list errors
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Defending need for SIR in the Supreme Court, Election Commission cites parties’ complaints about voter list errors
The Election Commission of India is defending its decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls in the Supreme Court. The first phase of the SIR ended on July 25, with the possibility of around 66 lakh names being struck off the draft electoral roll. Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have been consistently attacking the Election Commission alleging that electoral rolls were manipulated during the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls. Some of these names belong to deceased voters, or those who have migrated out of the State, while other voters were registered to vote in two locations or failed to complete their enumeration forms.
The Commission even submitted copies of these complaints in an annexure to the affidavit, running into 625 pages. The annexure includes complaints made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) before the Delhi Assembly polls, and by the Congress and its allies about alleged additions made to voter lists during the Maharashtra Assembly polls last year, as well as by the BJP, AIADMK, and Shiv Sena.
“…several recognised political parties across the spectrum have raised serious concerns with the Commission regarding inaccuracies in the electoral rolls — citing the inclusion of ineligible and deceased individuals and exclusion of eligible voters. These concerns arise from the limitations of the summary revision process which does not require fresh preparation of electoral rolls,” the ECI affidavit said.
On July 28, the Supreme Court will hear petitions filed by Opposition parties and activists challenging the SIR.
Opposition attacks
The first phase of the SIR ended on July 25, with the possibility of around 66 lakh names being struck off Bihar’s draft electoral roll. Some of these names belong to deceased voters, or those who have migrated out of the State, while other voters were registered to vote in two locations or failed to complete their enumeration forms.
Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have been consistently attacking the Election Commission alleging that electoral rolls were manipulated during the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls. Earlier this week, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi opened a new front by claiming voter list manipulation in Karnataka as well during last year’s Lok Sabha election.
The poll body said that political parties across the spectrum have also voiced concerns regarding the accuracy of the electoral rolls revised through the summary revision process, regarding the wrongful inclusion of the names of deceased, migrated and non-citizen voters. In order to restore public confidence and address these concerns, it has decided to undertake the SIR, the ECI said.
Unlike summary revisions, the SIR involves a complete, ground-up preparation of the electoral rolls to ensure accuracy, transparency, and inclusion.
‘Foundational exercise needed’
A senior ECI official told The Hindu that the Commission had also appraised the matter independent of these complaints and had come to a conclusion that an intensive revision was needed.
The counter-affidavit submitted in court also reflects this stance. “The Commission was of the considered view that the absence of any intensive revision for nearly two decades necessitated a more rigorous and foundational exercise,” it said.
The poll body also informed the Supreme Court that about 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents have been appointed by political parties to help Booth Level Officers reach out to the voters.