The Crossbill News Desk
The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML), which has been leading opposition along with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress against the Election Commission’s “special intensive revision” (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar, has alleged large-scale unlawful deletions from the electoral rolls and presented what it calls prima facie evidence from field verification in select assembly constituencies.
According to the CPI(ML), the first two complaints filed as part of its ongoing verification relate to villages predominantly inhabited by Yadavs — a community seen as a strong voter base for the RJD — as well as members of various Dalit communities.
In one case, Amit Kumar Paswan, a booth-level assistant and political worker, lodged a complaint with the Darbhanga district magistrate, claiming that 20 of the 59 voters deleted from the draft electoral rolls in Bandh Basti village under Bahadurpur constituency were found to be alive and residing in the same village.
“There are a total of 818 voters present in the booth. A total of 59 names were deleted from the draft SIR list out of these 818 voters. Out of these 59 people, CPI(ML) teams on the ground have identified 20 such people living in the same booth, whose presence has been physically verified,” the party said in its statement.
It further noted that two of these voters, Motilal Yadav and Dhyani Yadav, had been on the rolls since at least 2003.
The CPI(ML) has described the SIR process as part of a “votebandi” conspiracy to disenfranchise marginalised communities.
The Election Commission has said that 6.5 million names were deleted from the draft SIR list, which will be revised after examining objections and counterclaims by September.
CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya shared similar allegations on Facebook, posting copies of five complaints from electors in Arrah district who said their names had been wrongfully removed.
The party also released a video showing its workers interviewing residents of Dharachayak village in Phulwari constituency, claiming that 180 voters had been deleted from two booths there, with most still living in their homes.
The party asked that if such patterns emerge in a single village, what would the scale of disenfranchisement be across more than 90,000 booths in Bihar?
It accused the EC of failing to provide deletion reasons — such as death, migration, duplication or untraceability — and of not recording these complaints in its press releases, thereby “suppressing the truth” and projecting the opposition in a negative light.
The CPI-ML also alleged that people whose names were deleted were being compelled to fill Form 6, which is used for new voter registration, leaving them with no avenue to file formal complaints.
It has demanded that the EC immediately publish draft voter rolls, including the list of deleted names and the stated reasons for deletion, in every panchayat for public scrutiny.
According to the CPI(ML), the first two complaints filed as part of its ongoing verification relate to villages predominantly inhabited by Yadavs — a community seen as a strong voter base for the RJD — as well as members of various Dalit communities.
In one case, Amit Kumar Paswan, a booth-level assistant and political worker, lodged a complaint with the Darbhanga district magistrate, claiming that 20 of the 59 voters deleted from the draft electoral rolls in Bandh Basti village under Bahadurpur constituency were found to be alive and residing in the same village.
“There are a total of 818 voters present in the booth. A total of 59 names were deleted from the draft SIR list out of these 818 voters. Out of these 59 people, CPI(ML) teams on the ground have identified 20 such people living in the same booth, whose presence has been physically verified,” the party said in its statement.
It further noted that two of these voters, Motilal Yadav and Dhyani Yadav, had been on the rolls since at least 2003.
The CPI(ML) has described the SIR process as part of a “votebandi” conspiracy to disenfranchise marginalised communities.
The Election Commission has said that 6.5 million names were deleted from the draft SIR list, which will be revised after examining objections and counterclaims by September.
CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya shared similar allegations on Facebook, posting copies of five complaints from electors in Arrah district who said their names had been wrongfully removed.
The party also released a video showing its workers interviewing residents of Dharachayak village in Phulwari constituency, claiming that 180 voters had been deleted from two booths there, with most still living in their homes.
The party asked that if such patterns emerge in a single village, what would the scale of disenfranchisement be across more than 90,000 booths in Bihar?
It accused the EC of failing to provide deletion reasons — such as death, migration, duplication or untraceability — and of not recording these complaints in its press releases, thereby “suppressing the truth” and projecting the opposition in a negative light.
The CPI-ML also alleged that people whose names were deleted were being compelled to fill Form 6, which is used for new voter registration, leaving them with no avenue to file formal complaints.
It has demanded that the EC immediately publish draft voter rolls, including the list of deleted names and the stated reasons for deletion, in every panchayat for public scrutiny.
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