Opposition Challenges Election Commission's Bihar Voter List Revision
The INDIA bloc and NGOs have petitioned the Supreme Court to stop a Special Intensive Revision of Bihar's electoral rolls, alleging a conspiracy to disenfranchise marginalized voters.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) launched a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar on June 24, 2025, to remove ineligible names and illegal immigrants ahead of the November 2025 Assembly elections. The drive requires voters not listed in the 2003 rolls to provide specific citizenship and birth documents by July 25. The ECI maintains the process is necessary for electoral integrity, reporting that over 57% of enumeration forms have been collected as of July 9.
Opposition parties within the INDIA bloc, led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, have denounced the SIR as a "conspiracy to block votes" and a "backdoor NRC." They argue that the exclusion of common documents like Aadhaar and ration cards disproportionately targets Dalits, Muslims, and migrant workers. On July 9, the bloc enforced a state-wide Bihar Bandh, featuring a "chakka jam" march in Patna and railway blockades across the state, while alleging the ECI is acting as a "puppet" of the BJP to replicate alleged electoral manipulation seen in Maharashtra.
Legal challenges have surged in the Supreme Court of India, with petitions filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, the People's Union for Civil Liberties, and various MPs. Petitioners argue the short timeline and strict documentation are arbitrary and unconstitutional. Conversely, BJP leaders and the Bihar government defend the revision as a legal mandate to purge "illegal foreign infiltrators" from the rolls. The Supreme Court scheduled hearings for the batch of petitions on July 10.
