Bihar: CPI-ML demanded clarification over voter deletion

Patna, Oct 4 (IANS) After meeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Patna, the CPI-ML raised a series of objections and suggestions regarding the ongoing election process and the recently published voter list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

CPI-ML central committee member Santosh Sahani said the party has sought clarity on several key issues.

“The final list of SIR has been released. Around 65 lakh names were initially cut in the draft, and now another 3.66 lakh names have been removed. We do not know on what basis these names were struck off. We demand the Election Commission to release a booth-wise list of these deleted voters with clear details and reasons, just as it was done earlier for 65 lakh voters after the Supreme Court’s intervention,” Sahani said.

He also highlighted the addition of nearly 21 lakh new voters in the final list.

“These include both completely new voters and those reinstated after filing claims/objections. We demand a separate booth-wise list of those old voters whose names were wrongly deleted and later restored,” he said.

Pointing to inconsistencies, Sahani said: “As per the Bihar caste survey, the male-female ratio in the state is 914, but the SIR shows it as 892. This indicates a decline in female voters, and we demand an explanation for this anomaly.”

The CPI-ML also raised concern over reports of 6,000 people whose citizenship status has been marked as suspicious.

“If this is true, the names and reasons must be made public,” Sahani added.

The party further suggested that the Bihar Assembly elections should be conducted in two phases only, calling multi-phase polls “cumbersome, expensive, and tiring, especially for smaller parties.”

On administrative appointments, the CPI-ML alleged discrimination in the selection of presiding officers.

“We have reports from several districts, including Bhojpur, that senior officers belonging to Muslims, Dalits, or weaker communities are being sidelined, while officers from socially dominant groups are being appointed as presiding officers. We demand strict action to stop such practices,” Sahani said.

The party also insisted that polling agents be provided with Form 17C for security, and that booths for Dalit, Muslim, and backward communities be located within their own areas to ensure free and fair voting.

--IANS

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