How SIR exercise could impact crucial elections

FRESH VOTER ROLLS SAW 6.9 MN DELETIONS AND 2.3 MN ADDITIONS AFTER S.I.R.

- Arun Kumar

Bihar's assembly elections will be conducted on the basis of a fresh voter roll prepared after the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that saw nearly 6.9 million deletions and 2.3 million additions

The Opposition has attempted to make this an electoral issue with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leading a 14-day Voter Adhikar Yatra even as the Bharatiya Janata Party termed it a routine election exercise to remove the infiltrators and bogus voters from electoral rolls.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Monday that SIR had sanitised the electoral rolls. “All political parties and individuals were invited to file objections and claims once the draft was published and the final draft was published on September 30,” he added.