Congress Launches Drive To Counter SIR Impact In Bihar

New Delhi: The Congress has launched a door-to-door drive to counter the removal of over 65 lakhs of 7.9 crore voters in Bihar a day after the Election Commission of India's (ECI) official data related to summary intensive revision (SIR) showed the opposition INDIA bloc's fears had turned out to be true.

During the drive, which will go on till August 31, the grand old party workers will go to each household in the state to check if any names have been left out in the draft voter list put out by the ECI on August 1 after the controversial SIR which has become a major issue between an ongoing slugfest between the opposition INDIA bloc, the ECI and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

During the drive, the Congress workers will ensure that filing of objections by left out voters is done within the August 31 deadline as per the poll panel directive. The final voter list will be out on September 1 and will become the basis for elections to the 243 assembly seats in Bihar likely to be held in October-November.

According to Congress insiders, the initial estimates show that between 20,000 to 25,000 voters have been reduced across all the 243 assembly sears but the impact of the SIR will be the most in the border areas also known as the Seemanchal area where bulk of the opposition voters live. The reduction is significant for the INDIA bloc which was eyeing a victory in the coming elections as the winning margin between the opposition and the NDA in the previous 2020 elections was of mere 12,000 votes.

Congress insiders said they realise the gravity of the situation given the short availability of time for the corrections and will also coordinate with the allies like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left parties in conducting the counter SIR drive.

"The SIR data has confirmed our fears. Now we know that over 65 lakh voters have been removed from the voter list. The SIR which should have ideally been done over several months has been compressed into a month creating a chaos across the state. We know we have a short period for the corrections and accordingly we have launched a drive across the state. Our workers will go to each household to check the deletion of names and will get the objections filed for those whose names are missing in the draft list," All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary in charge of Bihar Sushil Pasi told ETV Bharat.

"We know it is going to be a mammoth exercise. Therefore, we will also coordinate with our alliance partners to cover all the 243 assembly seats. We estimate between 20,000 to 25,000 votes have been cut in every assembly constituency. Hence, this correction drive should become like a big movement against the SIR which was conducted at the behest of the saffron party (BJP) to somehow win the elections," he said.

As per ECI data, out of total 78969844 voters in Bihar, 72405756 had submitted their enumeration forms during the SIR which ended on July 25. After verification of the EFs, 6564075 voters were out of the draft voter list put out on Aug 1. Among these, 2234501 are dead, 3628210 were absent and 701364 were already enrolled, the poll panel said.

"We can understand removing the names of dead persons. Just imagine how would lakhs of people who work outside the state and are poor will be able to file their objections within a month. Then there are also who are so backward that they would be hardly aware if one member of their family had been placed out of the voter list. This will help the saffron party. The timing of the SIR is doubtful. They could have done the same after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections which were also held with the same voter list," said Pasi.

Congress leaders said there were a lot of irregularities in the way the SIR was conducted and noted that as the corrections process will move ahead, evidence of the wrong doings by the poll panel would also surface.

"The Supreme Court is still seized of the matter. We have noted that the top court is watching the developments in Bihar. The instances of wrong doings will also become evidence of sorts. The poll panel has not detailed about the social and religious background of the voters who have lost their names in the draft list. Any reduction of minority votes will help the saffron party indirectly in the border areas," CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan told ETV Bharat.

Besides the door-to-door drive, the Congress was also banking on the yatra that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will take out across 18 of the 38 districts in the state from August 10 to protest against the SIR. The INDIA bloc will keep on protesting the issue during the remaining part of the monsoon session of Parliament.

"The EC backtracked on all the assurances it had given regarding maintaining transparency in the SIR. The reason for removing any voter's name was to be given but it has not been done. We will continue to protest against the move. We will fight for the voting rights of the poor," RJD MP Prof Manoj Kumar Jha said.

"We have asked the Bihar CEO to give us booth-wise lists of names, not aggregated numbers, so we can try and check them over the month of August. From August 2 to 8, our workers will carry out a thorough check of some sample booths in select constituencies of Bihar," CPI-ML leader Dipankar said.