Help EC bring back Bihar voters left out of rolls: SC to parties , Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court directed political parties contesting the Bihar Assembly election to assist the Election Commission (EC) in including voters left out of the draft electoral roll.
• The court has set September 1 as the deadline for filing claims and objections for inclusion in the rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
• Voters can file claims and objections online with Aadhaar or any of the 11 documents listed by the EC as proof.
• The EC informed the court that 84,305 claims have been initiated so far, with over 2.5 lakh new voters in Bihar registering.

Detailed Insights:

• The court expressed concern over the lack of initiative from political parties in assisting voters with the inclusion process.
• The EC criticized political parties for their contradictory stance on the SIR, while assuring that no eligible voter would be excluded.
• The court noted that out of the 65 lakh excluded voters, the EC estimates that 22 lakh are deceased, 36 lakh have migrated, and 8 lakh are duplicate entries.
• Booth Level Agents (BLAs) can play a crucial role in verifying excluded names, with the potential to verify a significant number of names daily.
• The inclusion of Aadhaar as a relevant document may require the EC to allocate more time for verification of applications.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Roll: A list of persons eligible to vote in an election.
• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): An exercise conducted by the EC to update and revise the electoral roll.
• Booth Level Agent (BLA): A local representative appointed by political parties to assist voters at the polling booth level.