Copyright thehindu
The Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls announced recently by the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming that the exercise could leave lakhs of people, especially tribals, out of the voter list. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Umang Singhar alleged that the SIR is a “conspiracy” by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “remove” about 50 lakh votes across Madhya Pradesh ahead of the next elections. On Monday, the ECI announced phase two of the SIR in 12 States and Union Territories. Apart from M.P., the 11 States and UTs are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The first phase of the SIR was held in Bihar, following which more than 68 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls. Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Mr. Singhar said that the State has more than 21% tribal population and a large number of them live in remote areas where access to digital platforms and documents is limited. “Lakhs of tribal voters could be removed from the list without any fault on their part. The ECI has listed 13 documents for SIR, including the Forest Rights Certificate. However, the State Government has rejected over three lakh forest rights claims as of March 2025. Thus, tribal voters could be deprived [of their voting right] due to the lack of certificates. The Election Commission has prepared to cut 12 to 15 lakh votes of tribals,” Mr. Singhar claimed, while raising suspicion that similar lack of documents could also impact other marginalised communities like the Dalits, minorities, and smaller OBC groups. “The Election Commission deliberately wants to rush through SIR. Rushing through it means that lakhs of voters will be left out. In Madhya Pradesh, 40-50 lakh people go out [of State] for work, so will all of them have to come back to Madhya Pradesh within a month to prove their authenticity?” the Congress leader questioned. “This is a conspiracy by the BJP, which is being carried out through the Election Commission for the upcoming elections. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is laying the groundwork for the next election,” he charged. Meanwhile, leaders of various Left-wing parties also questioned the proposed exercise, alleging that it was “part of a conspiracy to further the Sangh Parivar’s agenda of depriving the poor, tribals, Dalits, women, and minorities of their right to vote”. In a joint statement, the Left parties alleged that about 10 lakh women voters have been removed from the voter list in Bihar. “This is the first time in history that the number of female voters has declined despite an increase in the female population and a partial improvement in the sex ratio in Bihar. The Election Commission claimed it was using this process to remove infiltrators from the voter list. However, during his press conference, the Chief Election Commissioner failed to disclose how many infiltrators had been found in Bihar and what had happened to them,” the CPI (M) and the CPI said, while calling a meeting of all non-BJP parties in the State on November 6.
