The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday reiterated that not a single political party has submitted any claim or objection regarding the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, published on August 1.
The EC had invited claims and objections over a week ago to rectify errors in the draft roll. While political parties have remained silent, the Commission confirmed receiving 6,257 claims and objections directly from individual voters.
According to the EC’s daily bulletin on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, 36,060 forms have been received from first-time voters aged 18 or above. As per rules, these claims and objections will be reviewed by the respective Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) after the mandatory seven-day period.
The Commission stressed that no name from the August 1 draft can be deleted without a formal “speaking order” from the ERO/AERO, following due inquiry and a fair hearing.
The SIR in Bihar has triggered a political controversy, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that the process could result in the mass deletion of voters. Opposition MPs have been protesting in Parliament since the start of the monsoon session, demanding a debate on the issue.
On Thursday, Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the EC of “choreographed” elections, claiming “vote theft” of over 1 lakh votes in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency. He alleged that while Congress won other seats in the region, the BJP swept Mahadevapura.
