Electoral Systems
Investigations by The Hindu, The Reporters’ Collective, and The Wire have uncovered significant anomalies and inconsistencies in the electoral rolls, highlighting how bureaucratic hurdles disproportionately affect women and migrant workers. Many citizens struggle to meet increasingly stringent documentation requirements. 65 Lakh Deletions Later: SC Orders Disclosure, EC Cornered, Opposition Seizes the Moment - The Wire
Despite higher male migration and slightly higher male mortality in recent years, nearly 32 lakh women have been excluded from the voter rolls, compared with 25 lakh men—a discrepancy that raises urgent questions about systemic bias in the registration process.
Ironically, the one document that is nearly universally held by Indian citizens, the Aadhaar card, has not been accepted by the ECI as valid proof of identity
by Zoya Hasan
19/08/2025
In the over one-hour-long press conference, Kumar did not provide any answers to why the Election Commission (EC) is asking for an affidavit under oath from Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of over one lakh votes being stolen in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,
Kumar also did not provide any answers to questions on how many enumeration forms in Bihar had been submitted along with the requisite documents and how many foreign undocumented immigrants were found during the SIR, as well as to allegations of whether the exercise is being used to usher in the National Register of Citizens in the state.
18/08/2025
The Election Commission’s special intensive revision of the electoral rolls of Bihar has cost Katihar daily wage labourer Phool Kumari Devi two days’ worth of earnings and five kilograms of rice.
“The BLO (Booth Level officer) had asked me for my Aadhaar card and voter ID card, and a passport size photo. I had no photo so I had to travel four kilometres to a photo studio. I had no money, so I had to sell rice I had got through the public distribution system. This meant that I had to stay without food,” said Phool Kumari Devi.
She said this at a public hearing organised in Patna on July 21 by several organisations including the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, National Alliance of People’s Movement, Swaraj Abhiyan and Kosi Navnirman Manch.
Many people complained that they were asked for money to get their forms filled. Kanchan Devi is one of them.
The team from the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan released the outcome of a rapid survey conducted in eight districts in the first week of July.
For this, 709 people of 12 assembly segments were interviewed.
According to the survey report, voters of the 18-40 age group, who were not on the 2003 electoral rolls – an overwhelming majority of 63% – did not possess any of the 11 documents to qualify for eligibility. Most have Aadhaar and voter ID cards.
22/07/2025
In an interview to The Wire, Rawat who served as CEC from January 23 to December 1, 2018, said that while the exercise being conducted by the poll body will help in identifying illegal immigrants, an intensive revision was not necessary for this purpose.
“For identifying illegal immigrants and purifying electoral rolls of these illegal immigrants, the law provides a very easy solution,” said Rawat.
18/07/2025
According to Rule 25(1) of The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, electoral rolls can be revised “either intensively or summarily or partly intensively and partly summarily, as the Election Commission may direct.” The Election Commission’s own website lists frequently asked questions or FAQs relating to the updating of electoral rolls and has a fourth category – ‘Special Summary Revision.’
The Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowers the Election Commission to revise electoral rolls and conduct ‘special revisions’. The term Special Intensive Revision – now being used by the Election Commission in its Bihar exercise does not find mention in either.
The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 which provides under Rule 25 the statutory rules for revision of electoral rolls, lists three types of revision – intensive or summary or partly intensively and partly summarily. But does not mention ‘Special Intensive Revision’ as the one being conducted in Bihar.
18/07/2025
- Bihar SIR Violates Legislative Intent of the Constituent Assembly, Ambedkar’s Vision
- Supreme Court Agrees to Urgently List Petitions Challenging EC's Bihar Rolls Revision
- The EC Has Cited 'Malicious Narratives' to Ask Officers to Destroy CCTV, Other Footage in 45 Days
- Are Election Malpractices Undermining India's Claims of Being 'the World's Biggest Democracy'?
- 'Under New System, Presiding Officers to Enter Voter Turnout Data Every Two Hours on Polling Day': ECI