In recent years, India has experienced a gentle but significant shift in how citizenship and national belonging to, and more and more, as voting rights are determined. This transformation is most evident in the ongoing revision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar, just a few months before the elections of the State Assembly at the end of this year. The rushing and opaque nature of this process risks the unlawful exclusion of the Lakhs of eligible voters and represents a serious threat not only for the integrity of the electoral system, but also the constitutional values of equality, fraternity and justice.
Anything other than a routine update
On the surface it seems that a special intense revision (Sir) of electoral roles in Bihar is a routine update. But in practice it is something other than. Almost 4.74 Crore voters – nearly 60% of Bihar voters – are now obliged to prove their capacity through a new set of documents. The threshold for inclusion has shifted dramatically. According to Sir’s instructions, any voter who is not listed in 2003 roles must now provide documentary evidence of citizenship. This includes a birth certificate, documents for climbing schools, land or official civic documents that are difficult to produce in city centers, let alone Bihar in rural sections. It is important that many of these documents, especially birth certificates, are to issue the responsibility of the state. However, the state has not been historically failed to burden the individual to obtain and provide them.
What is presented as a neutral “cleaning” of electoral roles brings a serious risk of Deenfranching millions. Poor, Muslims and migrant workers who make up a significant part of the Bihar population, with migrants themselves representing about 20%, are likely to be affected. There is a significant risk that a large number of migrant workers, mostly men, could be removed from election roles.
This represents a sharp break from previous practices, where self -harm was considered sufficient for registration, principle supported by election regulations and the Supreme Court of India. This shift indicates a deeper reconfiguration of the relationship between the state and its citizens.
ECI claims that the revision is aimed at removing duplicate items, removing the deceased voters and filtering unfit voters, and at the same time to include newly eligible. Legally, ECI is authorized. However, the scale, timing and the method of current exercise are deeply problematic. Within a few weeks, it is neither practical to perform such a massive overhaul nor reasonable to require documentation that many voters, especially from marginalized communities, simply do not. Media reports suggest that many such voters are widely adhered to by a government ID, such as Aadhaar, voter identification card, MGNGAGA cards and cards, none of which are accepted as sufficient evidence of capacity.
The core of this is the irony of Kafkaesque: The electoral identification cards issued by ECI are now considered insufficient. By refusing to recognize its own identification document, ECI not only throws citizens but also disrupts its institutional credibility. If his own identification cards are no longer considered trusted for verification, what does this mean the integrity of the election process and the legitimacy of past elections?
Intervention
Electoral integrity is not just about removing duplicates; It is about ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to vote. The ECI mandate is to facilitate participation, not by a Bytrocratic obstacle. By moving into the field, verification of citizenship ECI interferes with an area that lies on the judiciary and designated tribunes. There is concern that election registration officials (EROS) could have the power to refer to individuals suspected of foreign nationals to civil authorities – the task previously outside the ECI transition.
This shift and resistance to it have a precedent. In the past, the judiciary has expressed concern about the attempts to establish a burden on proving citizenship to individuals, including those who have already participated in the election process. It concluded that the previous incorporation into the election role means that the verification has already taken place. In 2005, during the revision of the role of Assam, the court again stressed that anyone who faces deletion from roles must be warned and the opportunity to answer and that citizenship issues must be resolved by the competent authority.
The current process in Bihar with demands for heavy documentation and compressed timelines begins to resemble a de facto national register of citizens (NRC), but without any legislative base or court supervision. It imports the logic of citizenship audits into the election administration and transforms a democratic procedure for a exclusive instrument.
The timing of this election role is deeper political logic. Its launch is particularly important in the context of sharply attacked state elections, where every vote matters. Political motivation is difficult to ignore: estimates indicate that up to two crore voters can remove from roles if the current process continues uncontrolled. In countries like Bihar, erase and several hundred thousand names could definitely affect the results of fixed constituencies. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is already facing a strong sentiment against incombosis and a growing challenge from the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (India) block, will obtain from these revisions. The result is still uncertain, the revision of voters is of clear political importance.
The composition of matters is a logistics challenge. ECI launched this document demanding exercise during the monsoon season, when large parts of Bihar are susceptible to floods. She deposited a 30-day term-there, in which there are many workers migrating away from home. This confluence of administrative rigidity and environmental vulnerability has created a perfect storm for exclusion. Institutions in charge of free and righteous elections and risk that he will become a guardian of democratic participation.
Greater consequences
Critics correctly see revision as a form of demographic manipulation – a finer version of gerrymandering by exclusion. The consequences exceed Bihar and carry national significance.
This new process is part of a wider political project aimed at weakening of pluralism, although factual political participation and competition are systematically limited. It compares to majority stories that question the loyalty and belonging of certain communities, especially Muslims, and seeks to reduce their political influence by undermining their representation and the right to vote.
What develops in Bihar can serve as a template for other states. ECI officials stated plans for similar special revisions in Assam, Kerala, Puduchherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. If this model is replicated, the institution may institutionalize access to verifying voters more demanding to the document-TEN, which risk it will cancel decades of progress in strengthening the position of historically marginalized communities by offering meaningful opportunities to participate in the democratic process.
The revision of Bihar Voter Roll revision is now under the Supreme Court under the challenge of violating fundamental rights, including voting law, equality before law, non -discrimination and dignity. If this is not affected, it could eliminate the lakes of citizens of their rights to vote, distort electoral results and erode the belief in a democratic institution. What is at risk is not only participation, but also the credibility of free and fair elections, which is an inviolable part of the basic structure of the constitution.
Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Center for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nezru University
Published – 9 July 2025 12:16
