Introduction
In the politically vibrant Bihar landscape — a state that is synonymous with intricate social hierarchies and grassroots democracy — an administrative exercise has recently stirred deep uneasiness. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the election rolls, conducted by the Election Commission, was intended to be a run-of-the-mill voter list update. Nonetheless, the timing, scale, and character of its implementation have invited parallels with the politically contentious comparisons. Is it simply a bureaucratic rectification of election records, or a clandestine bid at demographic engineering? This article deconstructs the politics, society, and economics of Bihar's voter authentication initiative and its extensive implications nationwide.
A Routine Revision or a Targeted Audit
Electoral roll updates are not uncommon. They are statutorily required procedures to ensure clean, current voter lists. But the current push in Bihar is different. It targets areas with "abnormal" increases in voters, precipitating house-to-house document checks and intensive checks on voters' credentials. The Election Commission has highlighted the requirement of eliminating bogus or duplicate voters, but the rapidity and criteria of this exercise have sent shivers down many spines.
In those parts of the country with large concentrations of downtrodden populations or large migrant populations, this verification is coming to be perceived less as an administrative process and more as an exclusionary screen. The procedural subtlety and absence of clear public explanation have merely increased these anxieties.
Adding to the worry is the state of areas like Kosi and Mithilanchal region, where they are perennially hit by flash floods that leave thousands homeless. In such disaster zones, where people usually manage not even to save their lives, never mind their homes, it is heartlessly utopian to expect them to preserve sensitive documents such as birth certificates, marksheets, or any such valid yet important documents. Not only does this reflect a disconnect in administrative thinking, but it also threatens to disenfranchise bona fide citizens from the democratic process.
A more profound constitutional concern also emerges: Who has the authority to delegate the power to the Election Commission to determine citizenship? Under the Constitution, deciding on citizenship comes under the domain of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the Citizenship Act of 1955, not of the electoral officers.
While verifying and authenticating voter eligibility is the duty of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), giving them the authority to determine or revoke citizenship or take legal action under the Citizenship Act amounts to grave overreach— one that goes against the very motto of the ECI: No Voter to be Left Behind.
Politics of Numbers: Realignment in the Making
Bihar has experienced caste arithmetic and vote bank politics before. As the elections draw near in 2025, critics contend that the SIR can be an astute step taken to quietly change the voter base demography.
Political implications may be weakening communities that have always voted for opposition parties, strengthening the image of "clean elections" under the reigning regime and utilizing electoral legitimacy as a cover for more profound ideological goals. While the Election Commission remains an autonomous body, selective scrutiny by the optics thereof can undermine the credibility of the institution in the public perception.
Social Repercussions: Identity in Crisis
One of the most unsettling consequences of this process is the fear that it generates — not in criminals or scammers, but in regular citizens. For landless workers, casual laborers, and intra-state migrants, the on-demand requirement of documentary evidence of domicile or lineage is simply existential. They are scrambling to seek electricity bills, Aadhaar cards, or ration documents to establish what they have always assumed — that they belong.
This deepens the urban-rural divide as urban residents, equipped with digital literacy and access to paperwork, glide through the process, while vulnerable rural populations struggle with paperwork, language issues, and bureaucratic red tape. The outcome? An increasingly large part of society now feels unsure about a right as basic as voting.
What It Means for India: A Dangerous Precedent?
If Bihar's model is approved, the same can be replicated in other politically sensitive states — such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, or Assam — with the same incendiary results. These measures could lead to the systematic harassment of marginalised communities under the guise of electoral reform, resulting in bureaucratic overreach into core democratic rights.
Conclusion: Between Intent and Impact
Bihar's Special Intensive Revision could have been just another routine electoral exercise, unifying as well as including the people, but it has turned out to be a political litmus test — one that exposes the cracks in India's democratic machinery. Politically, it creates opportunities for those who wish to manage votes strategically. Socially, it excludes the undocumented and poor. Economically, it levies a silent tax on the poor — one paid in fear, time, and lost opportunity.
Its implications are not just Bihar-specific. Normalized, these practices could redefine the state-citizen relationship, bringing democratic participation down to a paperwork hunt. The bigger question is whether our democracy can weather such surreptitious underminings without abandoning its very inclusive heart. This process should be carried out to smoothly facilitate the electoral process, but the timing and the character of its implementation undermine the democratic values of the process. As suggested by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its recent proceedings on this matter, the Election Commission should consider increasing the time span given to the voters to show the required documents for verification, as well as consider accepting the Aadhar Card, Voter ID, and Ration Card also as documents for verification.
Ultimately, the soul of a democracy lies not merely in clean voter rolls but in how it cares for its weakest voter. Today, in Bihar, that soul stands at a crossroads and we can only hope that in the times to come, it chooses a path of inclusion— not exclusion of its voters, nor the democratic values instilled at its core.
Arsalan Khan is a student pursuing Electrical Engineering at Jamia Millia Islamia
Edited by: Khadija Khan
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.
