EC mulls house-to-house verification for revision of electoral rolls, ahead of Bihar elections

In a major step towards enhancing transparency in electoral rolls, the Election Commission has zeroed in on plans to undertake intensive and rigorous revision of the electoral data.
According to EC sources, the poll body is contemplating carrying out intensive house-to-house verification of electoral rolls for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
The move comes on the back of recent controversy, pertaining to the inclusion or deletion of names of electors and allegations by political parties and civil society groups about alleged manipulation and fiddling of data during the process, with an intent to benefit a certain party.
The EC has, however, emphasised time and again that it is committed to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls, stating that regular exercise of revision of Electoral Rolls is undertaken annually throughout the country by the EC and also before the holding of elections/by-elections by the EC.
Notably, the constitutional and legal frameworks are quite clear when it comes to the addition or deletion of voters from the electoral list. Also, the provisions regarding eligibility and disqualification of any voter are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act.
However, the need for updation (deletion/addition) of electoral rolls arises because of unavoidable reasons like death, migration of electors, addition of new electors, correctional changes for names or photos and rationalisation of polling stations.
EC officials maintain that the entire process of updation of the electoral rolls is conducted as per the rules and stipulated guidelines, and also sufficient opportunity is given to political parties to file claims, objections and appeals before the final electoral roll is published.
Lately, the poll body has come under attack over changes in electoral rolls, which the political parties claimed were being done arbitrarily and to benefit a certain political outfit.
The EC officials have dismissed these insinuations and allegations as absurd, categorically stating that the exercise is conducted with full transparency and under constant scrutiny of political parties.
Now, in a bid to reinforce its credibility and instil more confidence in the public, the poll body is reportedly in the process of making the process more robust by undertaking house-to-house verification during the upcoming electoral roll revision before the Bihar Assembly Polls.
Such intensive and rigorous revision of the electoral rolls was done in the past also, with the latest being undertaken in 2004.
The new drive ahead of the upcoming Bihar elections will seek to reinforce EC's commitment to maintaining electoral vibrancy while debunking false claims of parties, at the same time.

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