Rewind to 2003: EC’s Digital Rollout Eases Voting Woes for Crores in Bihar

In a large-scale move ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is going to upload the 2003 Bihar electoral roll on the web, enabling the access of almost 4.96 crore voters, or approximately 60% of the state's electorate, who have been enrolled during the last intensive revision. This is as a part of a comprehensive "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) of Bihar voter rolls, with the only aim of enrolling genuine Indian citizens and wiping out illegal immigrants and duplicate entries.

 

Key Highlights:

2003 Roll Online: The 2003 Bihar electoral roll will be made available online and in print to voters and BLOs.

 

Document Exemption for 4.96 Crore: Anyone whose name was listed on the 2003 roll has to provide only a new enumeration form and photocopy of the roll extract—no other birth or citizenship proof is to be provided.

 

New Evidence Needed for 3 Crore: The remaining 3 crore voters (around 40%) who are not part of the 2003 list are required to furnish one of 11 documents specified for establishing date or place of birth and self-declaration of citizenship.

 

House-to-House Verification: Over 78,000 BLOs will conduct house-to-house visits in Bihar's 243 assembly constituencies for distribution and pickup of enumeration forms.

 

Draft Roll Inclusion: Names will remain on the draft roll even if documentation has not yet been provided, with hearing to follow for those who are unable to provide evidence.

 

Political Oversight: Political parties have been urged to appoint booth-level agents (BLAs) to monitor the process and ensure transparency.

 

Reason for Revision: The EC cites rapid urbanization, migration, inclusion of youth voters, underreporting of deaths, and illegal immigrant issues as reasons for the revision. Opposition Issues: Some of the opposition leaders have criticized the timing, extent, and risk of exclusion, especially for migrants and disadvantaged sections.

 

The ECI contends that the exercise is constitutional and not a "de-novo" implementation of a roll and is attempting not to leave any eligible voter behind and preclude ineligible entries.

 

Source: NDTV, Hindustan Times, Swarajya, India Today, Economic Times, ABP Live, The Wire