Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Oppn alleges final voter list 'orchestrated' at behest of BJP

New Delhi: The Opposition on Saturday attacked the poll body over alleged discrepancies in the final voter list with the Congress claiming that the list prepared after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was “orchestrated” at the behest of BJP and the CPI(ML)L seeking list of voters added and deleted from electoral roll with reasons for their exclusion.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on a day the Election Commission started its review of poll preparedness in Bihar, CPI(ML)L leaders asked the EC to make public the names of voters deleted from the list, including 3.66 lakh names deleted from the draft list, and the reasons for their exclusion.

On the addition of around 21.53 lakh new voters, the party sought a booth-wise detailed list of old voters, whose names have been restored after filing claim and objection, also be made available. The letter also raised concern over the deletion of a large number of women voters, saying the sex ratio in Bihar is 914 but male-female ratio in the SIR is 892.

Referring to reports that around 6,000 people have been omitted from the list claiming they are foreigners, it demanded that the names of these individuals and the reasons on which their citizenship has been deemed doubtful be made public.

It also alleged that senior officers belonging to Muslim, Dalit, or other marginalised communities are being overlooked, and in their place, officers from socially dominant groups are being given presiding officer duties as presiding officers and demanded a probe into it.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh claimed that the claims of reforms by the EC are proving to be false and reports from across Bihar confirm that the sole purpose of the entire process was to "provide political advantage to the BJP and its allies".

Alleging that the EC has orchestrated the entire SIR drama at the behest of the BJP, Ramesh claimed there were numerous instances of irregularities in the final list and it indicated that the EC has no regard for the "clear" orders of the Supreme Court.

"Functioning as the B-team of the BJP, the Election Commission has descended into complete shamelessness. 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? How are such massive irregularities surfacing in the final voter list? Or will they, as before, maintain their silence?" he said.

"The concerning aspect is that in some assembly constituencies, the number of voters' names being deleted exceeds the victory margin from the previous elections...We are reiterating once again that instead of rushing to complete the SIR process initiated to assist the BJP, the Election Commission should work impartially," he added.