Dark indicators of restricted or selective franchise

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls in Bihar

• The SIR, launched on June 24, 2025, is a complete reconstruction of the electoral rolls based on the submission of documents by aspiring and applicant electors.

• The SIR has similarities to the traumatic experience of demonetisation in 2016, with the SIR being referred to as ‘votebandi’.

• The SIR also includes a harsh ‘eligibility test’ for an estimated 50 million voters of Bihar.

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) demands 11 enabling documents as proof of electoral eligibility, which are rarely available to the common man in Bihar.

• High out-migration from Bihar, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has made the process more difficult.

• The ECI has recently given an electoral roll in Maharashtra exceeding the adult population of the State, raising questions about the selection of Bihar for a ‘balancing act’.

• The SIR template will be replicated across the country, disrupting the electoral democracy that has been practiced in India since the adoption of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act 1951.

• The onus of proving citizenship is being shifted from the state to the citizen, making the empowered elector a doubtful voter.

• The ECI’s statement that being a citizen is a constitutional prerequisite for becoming an eligible elector is being questioned, leading to a permanent category of disenfranchised citizens.

• The universal adult franchise has been the cornerstone of India’s Constitution and electoral framework, but the SIR in Bihar may lead to a new order of restricted or selective franchise.