'Bihar Voter List Revision Before Election A Conspiracy': Tejashwi Yadav To NDTV

The revision of voter lists ahead of the Bihar election later this year has been branded a 'conspiracy' by Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition and whose Rashtriya Janata Dal is expected to pose the biggest challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal United's hopes of re-election.

Mr Yadav also claimed the Election Commission was acting on 'orders' from the BJP; the EC, he alleged, had been effectively told to 'delete the names of poor and marginalised voters'.

Speaking to NDTV Tuesday evening, Mr Yadav pointed out an overhaul of voter lists can take up to two years and asked why this exercise had been taken up now, with the election less than six months away.

"The last time the routine process of revision of voter list was done was 2003... it has not happened since. And when it happened in 2003 it took about two years to complete," he said.

At that time the revision concluded just before the next Assembly election.

"Now elections are held to be held in November... two months are left before the notification process begins. That means the Election Commissibon has to make a new list... of eight crore people... in just 25 days. And that too when 73 per cent of the state is affected by floods!" Mr Yadav raged.

The comments echoed last week's X post; he accused the BJP of 'conspiring to strip people of Bihar of voting rights', and said the party would 'under the guise of a special intensive revision... remove your vote... (and) deprive you of ration, pension, reservation, scholarships, and benefits of other schemes'.

प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने निर्वाचन आयोग को बिहार की समस्त मतदाता सूची को निरस्त कर केवल 25 दिन में 1987 से पूर्व के कागजी सबूतों के साथ नई मतदाता सूची बनाने का निर्देश दिया है। चुनावी हार की बौखलाहट में ये लोग अब बिहार और बिहारियों से मतदान का अधिकार छीनने का षड्यंत्र कर रहे… pic.twitter.com/AMr2lpXvKo

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) June 28, 2025

A 'special intensive revision' essentially means the voter list will be prepared afresh, and the EC has said voters who registered after 2003 must provide extra documents to establish their citizenship.

That requirement has been flagged by Mr Yadav and other opposition leaders, including Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who called it a 'sinister move' to enforce the controversial National Register of Citizens in Bihar - as a 'test' case before the high-stakes election in her state in 2026.

"Eleven documents are being sought (by Bihar voters who registered after 2003)," Mr Yadav told NDTV, "... but according to the Government of India, only two to three per cent of the people have these documents. This is clearly a conspiracy to remove crores of people from the voter list."

"I am not afraid of defeat... but the names of crores (i.e., poor people who may not have access to the documentation to keep their names on the voter list) will be removed. Why? The Constitution has given all the right to vote..." he said, "This should have been done after the Lok Sabha poll."

The Congress has not yet backed Tejashwi Yadav as the face of their alliance (File).

"Even now the forms (for inclusion in the list) have not been distributed in many areas. We are only asking for time from the Election Commission... but have not received any information."

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has said voter list revision is a standard exercise before every Lok Sabha and state election, and is meant to ensure every eligible voter is counted and can exercise his/her franchise. The EC cited various reasons - 'frequent migration, first-time voters, non-reported deaths, and inclusion of non-Indian illegal immigrants' - as having necessitated a revision this time.

Poll panel sources also said political parties had been advised to appoint representatives as booth level agents, or BLAs, at all polling stations now - to monitor the revision exercise - rather than find fault later.

That message was a clear reference to allegations made by the Congress with respect to the Maharashtra and Haryana elections. The Congress, which lost both, has claimed voter lists were manipulated to ensure a BJP victory in both states. The EC has firmly denied all such claims.

READ | EC Writes To Rahul Gandhi On 'Match-Fixing', Gets No Reply: Sources

The revision exercise began on June 25 and the revised voter list is due September 30.

The poll panel has uploaded a list of 4.96 crore voters who registered before 2003, and said these people need not submit additional proof of citizenship. "They just have to verify details given in the 2003 electoral rolls and submit an 'enumeration form', the EC said in a statement issued Monday.

On Chief Minister Ambitions

Tejashwi Yadav also spoke to NDTV about tension over the opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance's chief ministerial candidate. The RJD leader is widely seen as the only real candidate for that post, but the Congress, which is an ally at the state and federal levels, has not, so far, backed him in the race.

Sources told NDTV last month the Congress is holding off on that support while it evaluates the possibility of striking out on its own, in an effort to rid itself of the 'junior partner' tag in the alliance.

READ | Why The Is Congress Reluctant To Endorse Tejashwi Yadav In Bihar Poll

The Congress reportedly also has reservations over what it sees as a 'one-dimensional' campaign of the RJD, which is based on caste factors and, particularly, the Muslim-Yadav base

Asked about his own take on the matter, Mr Yadav offered a diplomatic response, "Look, this is a process... there is no confusion about anything in the INDIA bloc (the pan-India, non-BJP alliance that includes the RJD and the Congress). We have our strategy... whether it is about seats or candidates."

"There is no confusion about anything," he said.

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