Have Bihar's Core Issues Been Buried by SIR-A Possible NDA Strategy

The Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled for the upcoming month of October. Just days before the polls, on June 24, the Election Commission of India ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, drawing the attention of all opposition parties towards this exercise. Now, instead of discussing Bihar's pressing problems, political parties are almost entirely focused on SIR. Bihar ranks among the most backward and underdeveloped states in India. For more than two decades, Nitish Kumar has been the Chief Minister. There is a strong anti-incumbency wave against his government, with numerous issues — unemployment, inflation, law and order, education, economic distress, migration, and poverty — affecting the state. Before the SIR announcement, the opposition was actively raising these issues to mobilize public opinion. However, once the SIR process began, all attention shifted solely to it. Nitish Kumar's 20-year anti-incumbency factor has now taken a back seat.

- Satish Mehra

People across Bihar are now preoccupied with checking whether their names are still on the voter list or have been removed. The Election Commission set a strict timeline for preparing this list — to be completed within one month, by July 26, without significant preparation. Opposition parties have raised multiple concerns about the short timeframe, arguing that the revision is being conducted just as the elections approach.