Patna: In an unexpected move on the last day of filing claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls of Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) submitted 16 objections by 10 am on Monday. The filings came during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the state.
The development followed a massive submission by the Congress on Sunday, when the party claimed to have lodged 89 lakh complaints with district election authorities, alleging large-scale irregularities. The opposition has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of acting in favor of the ruling BJP, alleging that the revision drive seeks to exclude Dalit, poor, and migrant voters from the rolls.
Despite Congress’ claims, the ECI bulletin for September 1 reflected no official entries of objections filed by the party, either for inclusion or exclusion of names. Congress leaders, however, said their workers had submitted the complaints in recent days, which the ECI later dismissed on grounds of improper format. The poll body maintained it would assess the submissions as per laid-down procedures.
The BJP’s sudden decision to file objections is seen as significant since it had not raised a single complaint since the objection window opened on August 1. The timing also coincided with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra, which concluded in Patna on Monday. Gandhi has repeatedly accused the BJP of attempting “vote theft” ahead of upcoming elections.
Data from the ECI shows that as of September 1, around 16.56 lakh new applicants in Bihar, mostly first-time voters aged 18, applied for inclusion in the rolls. Additionally, 2.17 lakh applications sought exclusions, while only 36,475 were filed for inclusions. Among other parties, the CPI(ML) Liberation submitted 103 claims for exclusions and 15 for inclusions, while the RJD filed only 10 claims for inclusions.
The claims and objections phase under SIR marks a critical stage in Bihar’s electoral process, as the final rolls will determine voter eligibility ahead of upcoming polls.
