Bihar Draft Electoral Rolls At 3 PM, Opposition Writes To Lok Sabha Speaker

The Election Commission of India (ECI) today handed out the draft electoral rolls for all 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar to political parties, triggering immediate protests from the Opposition, who in a joint letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have sought a special discussion in Parliament over the timing and intent of the voter list revision process.

According to the Election Commission, the draft rolls include data of up to 90,817 polling stations across the state. Copies of the electoral rolls were distributed to all recognised parties through each of the 38 district collectors today. The Commission also announced that the draft voter list would be made available to the general public on its website from 3:00 PM onwards.

This release is part of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which the Commission has described as a routine procedure aimed at updating voter records and correcting discrepancies.

In a joint letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, leaders from nine Opposition parties have voiced "deep concern" about what they describe as an "unprecedented" revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The letter was submitted by a group comprising Congress, DMK, SP, TMC, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, RSP, and others.

"We, the undersigned Members of Parliament representing various Opposition parties, wish to express our deep concern over the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections. This is unprecedented. The Election Commission of India has indicated that similar exercises will soon be undertaken across the country. Given the widespread apprehension about the transparency, timing, and intent of this process, the matter requires the urgent attention of the House," the MPs stated.

The letter further references past Opposition attempts to raise this issue in Parliament and during formal meetings with the government, including the all-party meeting convened on July 20.

"While the government has stated its willingness to discuss all issues, including this one, no date has yet been fixed for such a discussion," the letter says.

The MPs argue that the voter roll revision carries "direct implications on the right to vote and the conduct of free and fair elections." They requested the Speaker to "schedule a special discussion on the ongoing voter roll revision without any further delay."

The signatories to the letter include Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi, DMK's TR Baalu, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, RSP's N K Premachandran, SP's Lalji Verma, TMC's Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant, and RJD's Abhay Kumar.

In both Houses of Parliament today, Opposition MPs reiterated their demand for a debate on the SIR process.

In the Rajya Sabha, proceedings were disrupted shortly after the House convened, with Opposition parties raising slogans and submitting adjournment notices. Deputy Chairman Harivansh informed the House that he had received 30 such notices requesting urgent discussion on issues ranging from the Bihar voter roll revision to the alleged discrimination against Bengali migrant workers, the US tariffs on Indian imports, and layoffs in India's IT sector.

Leaders from the Opposition reiterated their charge that the SIR exercise may be used to selectively remove voters from the rolls, particularly in districts with large populations of disadvantaged or minority communities.