Roll revision and fears of exclusion

The Election Commission of India (ECI)’s decision to undertake a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the country has triggered apprehensions and invited criticism. The roll revision is being done first in Bihar where assembly elections are to be held in the next few months. Elections are scheduled next year in other states including Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Commission has said that the exercise is intended to weed out the names of ineligible voters from the electoral rolls. It has cited rapid urbanisation, migration, non-reporting of deaths, and the inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants as reasons for the house-to-house verification. As part of the exercise, voters whose names did not figure in the rolls in 2003 – when an SIR was conducted the last time – will have to provide a declaration that they are Indian citizens, and support this declaration with documented proof of birth and place of birth.

The Commission has announced the decision against the backdrop of allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of electoral manipulation using the voters’ list in Maharashtra. The ECI has denied the charges. The Opposition parties have responded to the exercise in Bihar with suspicion. The RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) has said it is a “well-planned conspiracy” to deprive lakhs of people in the state of their right to vote. It has questioned the need to undertake the revision in a hurry when it has not been done for over two decades. The Congress has said that the exercise is intended to remove the names of the poor, Dalits, and minorities from the voters’ list ahead of the election. The parties have said that the SIR would help the BJP in the poll.

Booth level officers (BLOs) will carry out door-to-door checks and voters will be given an enumeration form they have to fill on the spot and return to the BLO. The draft electoral roll will be published on August 1 and the final roll on September 30. The Commission’s stated keenness to remove the names of ineligible voters from the list is laudable but the revision could have been conducted well ahead of the polls. Producing the proof of birth may pose challenges for many people. Voters have also been told to specify the places of their birth – this is a new requirement that makes the process more complex. The roll revision should not lead to disenfranchisement and denial of voting rights to vulnerable sections of society.