The move by the electoral body has triggered significant backlash from Opposition parties.
After a meeting between Opposition leaders and the Election Commission, Jha had told ET on Thursday that the meet had been “not a cordial one.” He had also claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar informed the delegation that nearly “20% of Bihar voters will be out of the rolls” after the revision.
“The Opposition leaders’ meeting with the ECI brass on SIR was not a cordial one. Now, the Opposition leaders are in the process of discussing the future course. All options, including legal recourse, are being discussed,” the RJD leader had said.
Congress had also indicated that they were exploring multiple options, including legal action and a mass agitation, to oppose the SIR in poll-bound Bihar, according to an ET report.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters that the party had “lost all faith in the ECI brass” after a meeting between Opposition leaders and the Election Commission the previous day. He alleged that the Commission’s top officials were behaving like “bicholia” (middlemen) of the government.
Bihar’s SIR impact
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Friday said that nearly 87 per cent of Bihar’s 7.96 crore voters have already been provided with semi-filled enumeration forms as part of the ongoing SIR exercise. The forms were distributed during the first visit of booth-level officers (BLOs) to nearly 1.5 crore households across the state.According to the EC, over 6.86 crore forms have been handed out so far, with nearly 38 lakh already collected by BLOs. The Commission stated that the revision process is guided by the principle of “Inclusion First” to ensure that no eligible voter is left out.
In addition, around 1.55 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties are also taking part in the process. Each BLA is allowed to submit up to 50 certified forms per day.
