Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday declared that political parties and voters will have a month to apply for insertion or removal of names from Bihar's draft electoral rolls to be published on August 1.
Speaking to the electorate, Kumar said the draft rolls are being published as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
District election officers (DEOs) in all 38 districts will release physical and electronic copies of the draft rolls to all the recognized political parties within the state, Kumar asserted.
"The chief electoral officer (CEO) of Bihar and the 243 electoral registration officers (EROs) shall also be inviting any elector of that Assembly constituency or any recognized political party to come and submit claims and objections between August 1 to September 1 for inclusion of names of any missing eligible elector, deletion of names of any ineligible elector or correction of any entry in the draft rolls," the CEC stated.
His comments are made in the wake of increased criticism from opposition parties, who have expressed fears that the SIR process will disenfranchise deserving voters as a result of documentation. They have additionally charged that the election machinery of the state is susceptible to manipulation by the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance.
They have consequently caused frequent disruptions of both Houses of Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
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