The Election Commission’s decision to conduct a comprehensive revision of electoral rolls (SIR) ahead of the Bihar assembly elections has triggered a political storm. Congress and RJD leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav, have strongly opposed the move, calling for a Bihar bandh and threatening an election boycott. They have accused the BJP and the Election Commission of manipulating the electoral process, alleging vote rigging. This issue, which initially surfaced in Bihar, has now escalated to a national level.
The INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, has strategically framed the SIR as a key issue to challenge the BJP and the Election Commission before the Bihar elections. This has led to a renewed sense of unity among the diverse parties within the INDIA bloc, who had previously shown signs of fragmentation following the Lok Sabha elections.
This show of solidarity is not confined to Bihar, Bengal, and Maharashtra; it is also evident in the parliamentary proceedings during the monsoon session and on a national scale. A dinner hosted by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi brought together approximately 50 leaders from 25 parties of the INDIA bloc, where a collective commitment to oppose the SIR was reaffirmed.
In response to the situation, Rahul Gandhi is leading INDIA bloc MPs in a march from Parliament to the Election Commission, where they plan to protest the alleged “vote theft” associated with the SIR. The bloc’s leaders intend to formally present their concerns to the election commissioners. This march will see the participation of key opposition figures, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, and Abhishek Banerjee, along with around 300 MPs.
The opposition’s protest follows Rahul Gandhi’s accusations against the Election Commission, accusing them of being in cahoots with the BJP. He cited the Congress’s analysis of the Mahadevpura assembly seat in Karnataka, where he claimed about a lakh votes had been “stolen.”
Rahul Gandhi has consistently voiced concerns about “vote theft” during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He believes a “clean” voter list is crucial for ensuring free and fair elections. Before this, he made similar accusations during the Maharashtra assembly elections. His concerns were echoed by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who supported his allegations in the Maharashtra assembly.
In a similar vein, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has initiated a campaign against the SIR. Mamata Banerjee has labeled the SIR as a covert attempt to implement the NRC and has urged the state’s citizens not to fill out any forms. She has also requested the Election Commission for a two-year extension to conduct the SIR. The Trinamool Congress is also preparing for a showdown with the Election Commission.
The SIR issue has given a new focus to the INDIA bloc, which had become somewhat fragmented after the Lok Sabha elections. The alliance members are now uniting to address this issue and presenting a united front. The Bihar elections have further intensified the movement against the SIR. The INDIA bloc has announced a voter awareness campaign to address election fraud and the SIR. The campaign will begin from Sasaram and will spread throughout Bihar for 15 days.
The voter awareness campaign will include Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and other prominent opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc and other states. The entire opposition is poised to challenge the BJP and Nitish Kumar during the Bihar elections, although the extent to which this narrative will influence votes will be apparent after the elections.
According to veteran journalist and political analyst Om Prakash Ashk, the opposition has made the SIR a pivotal issue before the Bihar elections and is mobilizing for a movement. With the assembly elections scheduled in Bihar, the INDIA bloc’s primary focus will remain on the state. All parties within the INDIA bloc are aligned on the goal of transforming this into a nationwide movement.
Ashk notes that while the veracity of the opposition’s allegations of election rigging and the SIR remains to be seen pending investigation, it is a trend for the opposition to set narratives during elections. These narratives have had mixed success. For instance, during the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition raised concerns about the dangers to reservations, the constitution, and democracy, but the election results favored the NDA government. Some suggest that the BJP’s failure to secure an absolute majority this time was influenced by the emphasis on these issues. The Congress’s parliamentary representation increased, but the INDIA bloc failed to form a government.
Mirroring the concerns about the threats to reservation, the constitution, and democracy, the INDIA bloc is now using the SIR and alleged election rigging as a basis to question the Election Commission. The opposition is targeting the Election Commission. The opposition seeks to create a narrative against the BJP that the current government has hijacked all constitutional institutions, thus providing a common cause for the opposition parties.
This unity is also visible in the Vice-Presidential election. Although the NDA candidate is expected to win, the INDIA bloc has decided to field a joint candidate against the NDA nominee. Political analysts claim that accusations of election rigging began during the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. The issue has become more prominent before the Bihar assembly elections and has taken a national form. In the upcoming year, assembly elections will be held in five states, including Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu. The opposition is likely to use these issues to counter the BJP.