Hello,
What is happening in Bihar as part of the ‘Special Intensive Revision’, an electoral roll purification exercise, and the scale on which it is taking place, the state’s electoral scene resembles nothing but a theatre of the absurd. The Reporters’ Collective team uncovered several examples of such absurdity by analysing the draft electoral rolls and also from the ground.
Our latest on-ground investigation from the Dhaka Assembly constituency in Bihar reveals that in the name of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, repeated attempts have been made to delete nearly 80,000 Muslim voters. The attempts are acknowledged by ECI’s local official, and, so far, the BJP has not denied them either.
Dhaka’s sitting legislator, a BJP leader, has also accused the opposition party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), of attempting to delete 40,000 Hindu voters from the roll.
The fate of such voters will become clear on October 1st when the Election Commission of India unveils the finalised list of voters in the Dhaka constituency.
Read the investigation here:
The loopholes in ECI’s SIR have been repeatedly exposed in investigations by The Collective and other independent organisations and journalists. You can read all of our work here, in our Electoral Roll Project.
We are a small but determined team. We have scarce financial resources, but your donations have kept us going. Your support has inspired us to continue our investigations into the poorly planned SIR exercise and seek accountability from the powerful.
Please continue to support us.
Warm Regards,
Mayank Aggarwal
Editor, The Reporters’ Collective