"Finding Documents...": RJD's Manoj Jha On Row Over Bihar Poll Roll Revision

Bihar is preparing for the Assembly Elections this year, and the Election Commission has launched the Special Intensive Revision of the state's voter list, a move that has sparked a massive political row, with the opposition INDIA Bloc questioning the timing of the move and the incumbent Nitish Kumar regime and the BJP hitting back at the Congress, accusing it of shielding fake voters.

Speaking to NDTV, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha questioned the move and alleged that the people who migrated to different states will be "subjected to a rigorous exercise." NDTV also spoke to former Chief Election Commissioner, OP Rawat, who addressed concerns raised by the Opposition and with BJP MP, Sanjay Jaiswal, who hit out at the Opposition for questioning the exercise. 

RJD MP Questions Electoral Roll Revision

"At one point, the Election Commissioner himself said that roughly 20% people from Bihar live in different other cities as a migrant population. And that proved our suspicion, our fear, true, that the brunt shall be borne by people who live in Surat, who live in say Baroda or Hoshiarpur or Mumbai in different parts of Maharashtra. Even though they live in these cities, they come to Bihar on festivals and particularly during the festival of democracy, that is, voting, whether it is an assembly election or a parliamentary election," Mr Jha said.

"Now, this entire population roughly would be subjected to a rigorous exercise of finding one document out of 11. They won't accept Aadhaar, they won't accept ration card, EPIC card or MNREGA job...So, if you look at the numbers and also at all different parameters, Bihar ranks quite low," Mr Jha added.

"It's very difficult to collect, contain all the documents in a safe place, particularly when the floods are almost there in different districts of Bihar," he said.

He questioned why this exercise is being carried out after 22 years and not earlier, especially after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Mr Jha said, "Why only from Bihar? This exercise could have been taken immediately after the Lok Sabha election. You did not. 22 years ago, this exercise was done...I asked this question.

For this revision, the Election Commission has said, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct a house-to-house survey to verify voters by reviewing documents. The poll body has said it will strictly follow provisions regarding voter eligibility and grounds for disqualification. The Election Commission has said poll officials have been asked to ensure that genuine electors, particularly old, sick, Persons with Disabilities (PwD), poor and other vulnerable groups are not harassed and facilitated to the extent possible. It has also sought help from political parties to ensure discrepancies are resolved at the preparation stage of the revised voter roll.

Read more: Why Poll Body Is Revising Bihar Voter List. Why Opposition Is Against It

What Ex-Poll Body Chief Said

Meanwhile, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, OP Rawat, also spoke to NDTV to address the concerns raised by the opposition, especially regarding not using Aadhaar for the exercise. 

Mr Rawat said, "Adhaar card is no proof of citizenship, it is the proof of only ordinary residents. Whereas, the electoral roll includes the names of only citizens who qualify to be voters, meaning those who are above 18 years of age on the appointed day. Aadhaar doesn't have any relevance here. 

To a question on timing, which was even raised by Professor Manoj Jha, Mr Rawat said, after every election, like the Lok Sabha election or the Assembly election, the election commission does a revision of the voter list, but that is a summary revision, and this is an intensive revision. 

Mr Rawat further answered the question on the documents needed for proof of eligibility. He said, "The 2003 voter list will cover around 65% of the voters who do not have to provide anything. So, the remaining 35% only will have to provide something." 

"11 listed documents are not exhaustive. It's only an indicative list. There are many other options to provide if you don't have those 11 documents. Like, if your parents' name is there on the 2003 voter list, which is readily available on the website of the Election Commission as well as with the BLO...You can just take a copy, show that your parents were there, and you did not register for certain reasons...And then you will be there in the list. So, there are many other options available. The election commission brought in that option, particularly for the migrant population to vote from a distance," he said.

In his conversation with NDTV, Mr Jha did point out the logistical challenges in Bihar and said that if the officials become doubtful, then the citizens would lose their right to vote. He also highlighted the difference in the nature of migration from Bihar compared to other states. 

Read more: 'Votebandi': INDIA Bloc vs Poll Body On Electoral Roll Revision In Bihar

Mr Jha also said the ECI failed to convince us or convince themselves why Aadhaar won't be accepted and why different government-owned scheme-based certificates or testimonials shall not be accepted.

The former Chief Election Commissioner answered the question on logistical challenges that the people of Bihar would face. 

He said, "Migrant workers go only after the Kharif season, which ends in November. Right now, monsoon is there, and Kharif crop is there. So, they (migrants) are growing Kharif crop in their fields, and they are not going now. So, this is the nature's bounty to the election commission that they could resort to intensive revision in this interregnum."

What BJP MP Said

BJP MP from Bihar, Sanjay Jaiswal, also spoke to NDTV and hit out at the Opposition for questioning the exercise and alleging that 2 crore people from Bihar would lose their right to vote in the election.

Mr Jaiswal said, "There are already 5 crore people who don't need to verify at all. So the question of 2 crore people doesn't arise. Secondly, even in those roughly 3 crore, 2.96 crore people who need to be verified...if your father or mother has been a citizen already registered in the voter list, then that's enough."

"If you write down your father's and mother's names, and they are already there on the list, naturally, this will take care of most of the things. The only problem will be those people who have completely shifted with their families outside," he said.

Responding to the Opposition's remark on the timing of the exercise, Mr Jaiswal said, "This exercise had happened in 2003 also. This happened during Nehru's era, and during India Gandhi's era. The opposition is opposing because this is now happening in Nitish Kumar's era." To allay fears of migrants, he said that "genuine Biharis" have nothing to worry about.