CPI (ML): Poll roll revision will disenfranchise voters in Bihar-OxBig News Network

The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) on Thursday questioned the Election Commission’s sudden decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying said it would disenfranchise several voters.

Saying this was the first time when electors were being asked to prove their citizenship, CPI ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the move reversed the principle where the burden of proof lay with the state, not the voter.

He made the remark after a meeting with the EC on the issue on Thursday. “Such a drastic change raises legal and constitutional questions about the EC’s mandate,” he said, questioning why the EC was conducting a revision in Bihar after 22 years. The last revision of electoral rolls had happened in 2003.

He questioned the EC’s rationale behind using the 2003 electoral roll of Bihar as the benchmark. He alleged that the poll panel’s claims that 4.96 crore people listed in the 2003 roll would not have to provide proof was misleading.

“Many from that list may have passed away or migrated. Realistically, only around 3 to 3.5 crore may still be relevant, meaning over 5 crore voters will be forced to prove their citizenship,” he said.

The party demanded immediate halt or review of the revision process in its current form; explanation of why the 2003 roll was chosen as a benchmark; wider inclusion of commonly held identity documents; assurance that no eligible voter will be excluded; and transparent, consultative policymaking on electoral matters.

The CPIML has high stakes in the upcoming Bihar poll. In 2020 elections, it won 12 of the 19 seats that it contested. In comparison, the CPI and the CPM won two seats each of the total six and four seats, they contested respectively.