The Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed as ‘misleading’ a report published in The New York Times alleging voter list manipulation in Bihar.
The report, headlined ‘Hundreds of Indian Lawmakers Detained at a Protest Claiming Vote Rigging’, highlighted Opposition leaders’ accusations against the electoral process.
In a fact-check issued on Tuesday, the ECI asserted that the allegations were incorrect and circulated videos showing the ‘actual truth at the field level’ during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The videos featured testimonials from representatives of political parties, including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Left, acknowledging the transparency of the process.
The ECI detailed the multiple meetings held with political parties before, during, and after the publication of the draft electoral roll. It emphasised that the process adhered to the ‘highest degree of transparency’ to ensure accuracy.
The poll panel reissued the official order for the SIR in Bihar, reiterating that ‘pure electoral rolls strengthen democracy’.
The clarification came a day after the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, led a protest march of the INDIA Bloc from Parliament to the ECI headquarters in Delhi, alleging manipulation of voter lists.
To underline its stance, the ECI circulated its daily SIR bulletin and revealed that political parties had not filed any formal complaint even after 12 days of the draft electoral rolls’ publication.
According to the bulletin, the office of the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and its team of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) had processed 341 claims and objections directly submitted by electors for inclusion or removal of names from the draft voter list.
Overall, the Bihar election office has received 13,970 claims and objections under the SIR process.
As per rules, the concerned EROs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) review and dispose of these after seven days following verification of eligibility documents.
The ECI also reported a surge in new voter applications since the SIR began on August 1. A total of 63,591 individuals who turned 18 have applied for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
Officials said the ongoing revision aims to ensure that all eligible citizens are registered, while ineligible names are removed, ahead of upcoming elections.
By releasing detailed field data, video testimonials, and official bulletins, the ECI has sought to counter the NYT’s claims and reassure the public about the integrity of the electoral process in Bihar.
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