NEW DELHI: The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has triggered a nationwide controversy, with serious allegations emerging about large-scale irregularities and suppression of media reportage.
The national outcry stems from the fact that the Election Commission is bent upon carrying out the exercise across the country with the Supreme Court finding nothing wrong in EC performing its duty to weed out the bogus voters.
Ground reports suggest that Block Level Officers (BLOs) are filling out voter forms en masse without the consent or physical verification of voters, an exercise that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, media bodies, and civil society.
Senior journalist and YouTube channel head Ajit Anjum brought the issue to the forefront after recording a live video from the Sub-Divisional Office in Phulwari Sharif, Patna district. Anjum’s footage, which has since gone viral, shows nearly 40 BLOs sitting in a hall, mechanically filling out voter registration forms.
According to Anjum, none of the officers had conducted the mandated door-to-door verification, raising questions about the authenticity of this exercise.
“This is a blatant violation of voters’ rights,” Anjum said in his report. “Forms are being filled up on voters’ behalf, without their knowledge or signatures, all to meet the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) commitments before the Supreme Court.”
On July 10, the ECI had assured the Supreme Court that Bihar’s voter rolls would be revised through a structured and transparent process. However, multiple eyewitness accounts from different centres across Bihar suggest the contrary.
Local residents have reported forged signatures and unchecked entries being made under their names, fueling widespread apprehension about electoral integrity ahead of the upcoming elections in October-November.
Opposition parties in Bihar, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, have mounted a scathing attack on the ECI. Leaders have demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing SIR exercise, insisting that the electoral rolls finalized in January this year should be treated as the valid voter list.
“It is clear that the entire exercise is being conducted in a hurried, opaque manner to fulfil a court deadline, but at the cost of democracy’s core principles,” said a senior RJD leader. “We will not allow such large-scale manipulation of voter rolls.”
The controversy has deepened with the filing of an FIR against Ajit Anjum by the Administration in Begusarai , accusing him of disrupting official work and unauthorized recording. Media organizations across the country have condemned the move as an attack on press freedom.
The Press Club of India and the Delhi Union of Journalists issued strong statements criticizing the ECI for allegedly intimidating journalists instead of addressing the irregularities exposed.
“This is unacceptable in a democracy,” the Press Club of India said. “Instead of lodging fake FIRs against journalists doing their duty, the Election Commission must ensure a fair and transparent process.”
With political temperatures rising, all eyes are now on the ECI’s next steps. Whether the Commission acknowledges these concerns or proceeds with the disputed revision exercise could have significant implications not only for Bihar’s electoral rolls but also for public trust in India’s electoral machinery.
Since the Election Commission’s lawyer has told the Supreme Court that the Special Intensive Revision is not to be limited to Bihar but conducted in all states to remove the bogus voters. The exercise would soon begin in Bengal where the BJP claims Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been thriving with a very large number of Bangladeshis.
[Writer is a Senior Journalist and Political Commentator]
