Hello,
We have been digging deep into the mess that the Election Commission of India’s hastily done Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar has created. With the help of independent experts, The Reporters’ Collective’s team crunched a lot of numbers during the past month. We thought we had already witnessed most of the electoral roll data chaos, but then we went on the ground in Bihar and noticed the rot in the ‘purified’ draft voter list runs deep.
Our team found two cases where the voters claimed to be non-Indian citizens and requested removal from Bihar’s voter roll. However, a little digging revealed that, in July, both voters submitted their enumeration forms. Both died in August during the second phase of the SIR verification drive, and their deaths were noted by the BLOs, who initiated the deletion process of their names. However, they mistakenly noted the reason for their exclusion as "not Indian citizens."
The discussion with many voters shows people have no idea how to respond to the ECI summons for the hearing, where their inclusion or exclusion will be decided.
How did it happen? Should BLOs be blamed for the issues? Are they working under huge stress with poor facilities? What would happen to the families who are being called non-Indian citizens?
We discuss the haste, chaos, and more in our latest blog, which our team on the ground has penned.
Read here: Voter Chaos in Bihar: A Village Finds Two of Its Deceased Marked As Alien Citizens by the ECI
You can read all of it here, in our Electoral Roll Project
We are facing financial constraints, but we won’t stop asking questions. We will continue to ask tough questions and seek accountability from the powerful. You can support us in this journey.
Warm Regards,
Mayank Aggarwal
Editor, The Reporters’ Collective