Election Commission of India severely criticized for Bihar voter list amendment

6 July 2025: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is facing sharp criticism for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) launched on June 24, 2025, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar. The process, aimed at updating the voter list and removing ineligible entries, has been questioned by opposition parties, civil society and activists, who allege that it could disenfranchise lakhs of people, especially marginalised and migrant voters.

At the centre of the controversy is the ECI directive demanding voters to produce strict documents to prove citizenship, such as birth certificates or proof of parental citizenship for those born after 1987 and 2004. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have challenged it in the Supreme Court, calling it “unconstitutional” and a “threat to democracy”. Moitra's petition claimed that the process violates the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution and alleged that the ECI was trying to remove vulnerable groups such as the poor, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and migrants from the voter list, who often do not have these documents, at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Opposition leaders such as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav called the drive a "votebandi", linking it to the 2016 demonetisation and said it could hamper the rights of millions of voters. Kharge alleged that the BJP, with the support of the ECI, was trying to suppress crores of voters. India Bloc, an alliance of 11 opposition parties, met ECI officials to register their protest and announced a Bharat Bandh on July 9 and further legal challenges. Citing previous complaints from political parties, including the opposition, the EC said the SIR was a routine process to ensure the accuracy of the pre-poll voter list.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stressed that the process was in line with Article 326, which limits voting rights to Indian citizens above the age of 18, and was aimed at excluding non-residents and illegal immigrants. The revision, which pertains to Bihar's 7.89 crore voters, involved over 77,000 booth-level officers and 20,000 additional volunteers who verified 4.96 crore voters from the 2003 list. Amid mounting pressure, the EC relaxed rules on July 6, allowing voters to initially submit forms without documents that could be provided later. The decision came after Hindi newspapers reported that the draft voter list would be published on August 1, 2025, and the final list would be ready by September 30.

Social activist Yogendra Yadav and organisations such as the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind have criticised the short time frame of 90 days, especially during Bihar's monsoon season, calling it impractical for rural and migrant voters.