Have Collected Over 57% of Enumeration Forms From Electors So Far In Bihar SIR: EC

New Delhi: Enumeration forms belonging to over 57% of Bihar's existing electors have been collected as of Wednesday (July 9) evening as part of the Election Commission (EC)'s special intensive revision of the voter roll in the state, the poll body said.

Having collected enumeration forms belonging to 4.54 crore or around 57.54% of the state's close to 7.9 crore electors in the first 15 days of its contentious revision, the EC in a press release claimed that the collection process “could be completed well before the stipulated date” of July 25.

In the 24 hours before 6 pm on Wednesday election officials in Bihar collected 83.13 lakh enumeration forms or 10.52% of the total, the EC added.

The commission also claimed to have distributed 7.7 crore (almost 98%) of the nearly 7.9 crore forms it printed.

In an effort to update the voter roll in Bihar – which is due for assembly elections by November – the EC began its special intensive revision exercise on June 25.

“Various reasons such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants have necessitated” the revision, the commission had said while announcing the exercise.

As part of the revision, those whose names do not figure in the voter roll prepared after the last such revision in the state in 2003 will need to provide the details of their birth and, depending on when they were born, those of one or both of their parents.

The state's residents must fill in their date of birth, mobile number and parents' names, attach a ‘current photo’ of themselves and sign a declaration in an enumeration form that will have a number of other details, including their name and address, printed on it in advance.

Critics of the exercise have pointed to the short window of time it is taking place in as well as the fact that a large swathe of Bihar's voters may not possess any of the 11 specifically listed documents the EC is accepting as proof of one's birth details. This list is “indicative” and “not exhaustive”, the commission has said.

Aadhaar cards, voter cards and MGNREGA job cards are not in the list of the EC's 11 documents, although there are some reports of election officials accepting Aadhaar.

Opponents have also noted that the exercise is taking place as the monsoon drenches Bihar and even as many of its residents work as migrant labour elsewhere in India or the world.

Some have knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court in pursuit of a stay on the exercise. The top court is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions against the revision on Thursday, including by MPs, party leaders and activists.

Meanwhile, the EC in a separate press release on Wednesday listed the “four pillars” of its special intensive revision.

First is that the exercise is “all-inclusive”, which involves booth-level officers visiting electors' homes “at least” three times to give them their pre-filled enumeration forms.

The second is that all those who submit these forms by July 25 will make it to the draft electoral roll due to be published on August 1. Applicants

“Eligibility documents can also be submitted separately during the claims and objections period which ends on September 1,” said the commission.

While the third ‘pillar’ relates to the legal eligibility criteria for electors, the fourth is that one cannot be excluded from the voter roll without ‘speaking orders’ issued to them by the electoral registration officer (ERO) in the event that the official doubts their eligibility.

“Any person aggrieved by the decision of the ERO may prefer an appeal to the DM [district magistrate] and [a] second appeal can be preferred before the CEO [chief electoral officer”, said the EC.

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