What should have been a routine voter list update by the Election Commission of India (ECI) has become a nationwide controversy, triggering political protests, a challenge in the Supreme Court, and growing concerns about mass voter disenfranchisement. The controversy stems from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, where preliminary data suggests that up to 6.5 million voters—about nine per cent of the state’s 78.9 million-strong electorate—could be excluded from the draft rolls. The reasons cited include death, duplication, permanent migration, and failure to submit necessary forms. The first phase of the SIR concluded on July 27, while the draft electoral roll is to be published on August 1, followed by a month-long window for filing claims and objections till September 1. The final roll is scheduled for release on September 30, ahead of Bihar’s assembly elections later this year. As per the latest bulletin, the likely exclusions comprise 2.2 million deceased voters, seven lakh people registered in several locations, and 3.5 million individuals, who have migrated for good or could not be located during the door-to-door verification. Around 1.20 lakh forms remained incomplete. If all these are excluded, it would mark the largest voter list purge in a single state in recent memory.

The Election Commission (ECI) has defended the exercise in the Supreme Court stating that it was essential for maintaining fairness and integrity of elections. Officials cited technical reasons for the delay in releasing final data, with a complete update expected by Monday. The SIR was carried out by an extensive network: over 98,000 booth level officers, nearly 150,000 agents from political parties, and 400,000 volunteers participated in the month-long verification drive. However, serious concerns have been raised over the documentation requirements. Voters must provide one of 11 accepted documents to prove eligibility. Ironically, they don’t include Aadhaar, ration cards, or even voter IDs — all widely used government-issued documents. A booth-level officer from Araria district admitted to the media that they were uploading “whatever documents they could get,” but it was unclear whether these would be accepted. Different age groups face varying documentation burdens: those born before 1987 can submit individual ID proof; those born between 1987 and 2004 must provide personal ID and proof from a parent, while those born after 2004 need to furnish documents of both parents apart from their own.

In its July 21 affidavit to the apex court, the ECI maintained that Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter IDs do not qualify as citizenship proof, despite the court earlier advising the Commission to consider accepting these documents. This has set the stage for a legal showdown when the court hears the matter on July 28. On July 20, theECI shared lists of voters marked as deceased, migrated, or untraceable with 12 political parties for verification, but several discrepancies reportedly remain. The final electoral roll is expected to become a key battleground in the run-up to Bihar’s elections. Critics argue that the tight timeline may not allow enough time to resolve disputes, potentially resulting in legitimate voters being disenfranchised. The Bihar revision is just the first phase of a larger nationwide effort, with similar exercises planned elsewhere. At the heart of the debate lies the perception of a deeply polarised political landscape and a growing mistrust in the ECI’s impartiality—an ominous sign for Indian democracy.