Opposition in Bihar raises questions over special revision of voters’ list

Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar on Thursday (June 26, 2025) criticised the Election Commission (EC) for its decision to update the voters’ list before the Assembly election in Bihar. Mr. Kumar opposed the effort to update the voters’ list in a short time, terming it a conspiracy to eliminate the voting rights and participation of Dalits, minorities and the poor.

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Mr. Kumar alleged that the drive of updating the voters’ list is being carried out in a hurried manner. “In the name of updating the voters list, the EC is conspiring to deprive them of the right to vote in the upcoming elections in Bihar. This step has been taken by targeting the voters of the Congress and the Grand Alliance in a planned manner,” the Congress leader told the media in Patna.

Expressing apprehension over possible conspiracy to snatch the voting rights, Mr. Kumar added that the documents, which are being demanded under this process cannot be furnished by the people coming from the backward classes of the society in such a short time.

EC is a victim: Congress

Terming the EC as a “victim” of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s conspiracy, Mr. Kumar asserted that in the last elections in five States, the Commission had removed the names of lakhs of youth, deprived people, Dalits and minorities from the voters’ list under the same process.

“A similar case was made in the neighbouring State of Uttar Pradesh and our top leader Rahul Gandhi raised the matter of Maharashtra [election] repeatedly from appropriate platforms but it was ignored,” Mr. Kumar said.

He claimed that the drive will be helpful for the BJP in the upcoming Bihar Assembly election. Mr. Kumar announced that he will soon meet the Election Commission officials to raise the objection.

The EC on June 24 issued instructions for holding Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar where Assembly polls are scheduled at the end of the year. The last intensive revision for Bihar was conducted back in 2003.

The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct a house-to-house survey for verification during the intensive revision.

RJD’s criticism

Earlier on June 25, in a meeting with the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar along with political parties, Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had strongly voiced criticism against the revision of the voters’ list before the Assembly election in Bihar.

RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan, headquarters in-charge general secretary Mukund Singh and State general secretary Madan Sharma were representing the party.

In the meeting, Mr. Gagan raised the question that the Bihar Assembly election is on the horizons and in such a scenario, it will not be practical to conduct a verification in short time.

He had alleged that there was a “well-planned conspiracy” to deprive lakhs of poor people of Bihar of their right to vote. He stressed the question that when the special revision has not been done since 2003, then what is the need to conduct it now when the Assembly election is a few months away.