Patna: Opposition parties in Bihar have alleged that nearly 20% of the state’s migrant voters are at risk of being struck off the electoral roll as part of a special intensive voter list revision ahead of assembly elections.
A delegation of 11 parties from the India Alliance, including RJD, Congress, and Left parties, met the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi to register their objections. The leaders argued that the review process targets migrant voters, most of whom work outside Bihar but return to cast their votes during elections.
RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha criticised the revision policy as lacking empathy towards the poor, Dalits, backward classes, and minorities. He said Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav’s letter outlining these concerns had been submitted to the commission, highlighting what they termed a conspiracy to remove the poor from the voter list.
“Every vote is important in a democracy, whether it is of an industrialist or a landless farmer. If this is being tampered with, it will be rejected,” Manoj said. He added that the commission did not clarify what would happen to voters who lose documents or are unable to produce them during the one-month survey period.
Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of CPI(ML), said their apprehensions increased after meeting the commission, which failed to provide satisfactory responses. He pointed out that the commission’s requirement for voters to be ‘ordinary residents’ of Bihar would exclude migrant workers who live outside the state for employment.
He raised concerns that poor migrant workers often lack documents such as matriculation certificates or residence proofs, though they may have Aadhaar cards, ration cards, or job cards, which the commission does not deem sufficient.
Dipankar further claimed that voters enrolled after 2003 face additional scrutiny to prove citizenship, putting their fundamental right to vote in danger. He called for a large-scale movement to resist these changes.
Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram questioned the feasibility of the revision within the 25 days allotted, especially during the monsoon season when floods displace large numbers of people. He said daily wage labourers, often not at home during surveys, would be disproportionately affected if asked for land or house papers.
