The Election Commission of India has initiated a revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls, four months ahead of polling. This decision has caused significant controversy, with numerous political parties expressing strong opposition.

After a month-long special intensive revision (SIR) in preparation for the upcoming assembly elections, the Election Commission (EC) has released the first draft of electoral rolls for Bihar. It has revealed that more than 52.3 lakh voters in the state could not be found at their registered addresses. These 52.3 lakh cases, accounting for 6.62 percent of its total electorate of 7.89 crore, include duplicate enrolments, permanently moved individuals, deceased voters, and those who are completely untraceable.

The EC’s new requirement for current voters, enrolled after 2003, to provide documentary proof of their date and/or place of birth for citizenship determination has also faced widespread political opposition.

Infiltration from Bangladesh — erstwhile East Pakistan — has been ongoing since the Partition of the India in 1947, with states like Assam in the northeast being severely affected. India has experienced a surge in infiltration from Bangladesh through several porous borders spanning Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.

This is highly organised,........

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