India Election Commission Considers Nationwide Voter Roll Revision

The Election Commission of India is considering expanding its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to a nationwide scale. The commission scheduled a meeting in New Delhi on September 10 with all state Chief Electoral Officers to discuss the implementation after a controversial drive in Bihar.

In Bihar, the SIR—the first of its kind since 2003—reduced the number of registered voters from 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore. The commission maintains the process is necessary to remove duplicate cards, dead voters, and illegal immigrants. However, opposition parties including the Rashtriya Janta Dal, Congress, and TMC accuse the panel of deleting voters from marginalized communities to deprive them of their right to vote.

The Supreme Court of India scheduled hearings for September 8 to address a batch of pleas challenging the Bihar revision. While the court declined to extend the September 1 deadline for filing claims, it characterized the controversy as a trust issue and ordered the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist voters. The commission assured the court that objections filed before the final nomination dates in each constituency would still be considered.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar dismissed allegations of bias or collusion with the ruling BJP, asserting that the commission stands without discrimination with all voters. The drive has split political lines, with BJP-ruled states supporting the measure while Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and M. K. Stalin oppose it.