Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has sharply criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of functioning like a “party cell of the BJP” amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar.
Speaking to reporters, Yadav questioned the Commission’s decision to exclude documents like Aadhaar Card, Ration Card, Job Card, and MNREGA Card from the voter verification process. He alleged the ECI has failed to clarify the rationale behind the exclusions, despite repeated demands.
“What ego does the EC have? Why can’t the Commissioners hold a press conference and clarify everything? It feels as if the EC is acting like a BJP unit,” said Yadav.
The SIR exercise—intended to update and verify the voter list—has sparked strong backlash from opposition parties, who have labelled it a “backdoor NRC” and accused the ECI of facilitating “vote theft” by targeting poor and marginalised voters.
On Wednesday, the INDIA bloc staged a massive “Bihar Bandh” protest in Patna, with senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi alleging electoral manipulation. Tejashwi Yadav went further, branding the ECI a “Godi Aayog” and claiming it is being used by the NDA government to erase names of poor voters from the rolls.
Prominent opposition leaders including CPI’s D Raja, CPI-ML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, Kanhaiya Kumar, and Sanjay Yadav joined the protest, demanding a halt to the revision process.
Meanwhile, the BJP and its ally JD(U) have dismissed the opposition’s allegations, accusing them of politicising the issue to avoid an electoral defeat. They claim the SIR process is essential for maintaining a clean and accurate voter database.
Despite the controversy, the Election Commission has reported collecting over 57% of enumeration forms during the first half of the SIR schedule, indicating significant progress in the state-wide exercise.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions challenging the ECI’s decision to conduct the SIR in Bihar, a verdict on which could have significant political ramifications ahead of the state elections.
