Controversy Surrounds Bihar’s Electoral Rolls
(MENAFN) Recently, India's Election Commission published revised draft electoral rolls for the state of Bihar, where significant elections are set to take place in November.
This followed a month-long process of updating the voters' list.
However, opposition parties and election watchdogs have criticized the process, claiming it was hurried.
Numerous voters in Bihar have reported to a news agency that the draft rolls contain incorrect photographs and even include names of deceased individuals.
The update, called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), took place between June 25 and July 26.
The commission stated that its officials visited all of the state’s 78.9 million registered voters to confirm their details.
According to the commission, the last similar revision occurred in 2003, making this update essential.
The new draft list now features 72.4 million names, a reduction of 6.5 million compared to the previous version.
The commission explained that the removals included 2.2 million deceased voters, 700,000 individuals registered multiple times, and 3.6 million people who had moved out of the state.
The correction period for these rolls remains open until September 1, with over 165,000 applications for changes already received.
A comparable nationwide review will soon verify nearly one billion voters.
Despite these steps, opposition groups have accused the Election Commission of deliberately excluding many voters, particularly Muslims who constitute a significant portion of the population in four border districts.
They allege this was done to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming state elections.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
