EC Secretly Implementing NRC? Row Grows Over Voter List Revision; Owaisi Also Joins the Protest

A major controversy has erupted over the Election Commission’s proposal for an intensive revision of the voter list ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the first to oppose it, calling it akin to implementing the NRC (National Register of Citizens). Subsequently, several leaders of the INDIA alliance, including Tejashwi Yadav, have questioned the Election Commission’s decision. Now, AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has also strongly criticized the move, calling it a cruel joke on the poor and backward people of Bihar.

Owaisi Accuses EC of Secretly Enforcing NRC

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Owaisi expressed his concerns, saying:
"The Election Commission is secretly implementing NRC in Bihar. To register their name on the voter list, every citizen will now be required to prove through documents where and when they were born, as well as where and when their parents were born. Even by the most reliable estimates, only about three-fourths of births are registered. Most government documents contain serious errors."

"How Will People Who Can Barely Afford Two Meals Manage Documents?"

He further wrote: "The people of the flood-affected Seemanchal region are among the poorest; many can barely afford two meals a day. Expecting them to possess documents for their parents is a cruel joke. This process will result in a large number of Bihar’s poor being excluded from the voter list. Enrolling on the electoral roll is a constitutional right of every Indian citizen. The Supreme Court had already raised serious concerns about such arbitrary processes back in 1995. Taking such actions so close to the elections will erode public trust in the Election Commission."

INDIA Alliance Opens a Front Against EC

On the other hand, the opposition 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' (INDIA) has strongly opposed the Election Commission’s plan for an intensive revision of the electoral roll just ahead of the Bihar state elections.
At a joint press conference in Patna, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress leader and head of media and publicity Pawan Khera, and CPI (ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, among others, announced they would resist the EC’s voter list revision efforts in Bihar.

Tejashwi Yadav Throws a Challenge

Former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav alleged: "We suspect that the objective of this exercise—which demands documents that most people simply don’t possess—is to disenfranchise a large number of voters, particularly from marginalized communities." He warned: "Once names are removed from the voter list, the next step might be to deny these people access to welfare schemes." He added, "It is practically impossible for the Election Commission to conduct such a massive operation in just 25 days, as proposed. If they truly believe it's feasible, I challenge the central government to conduct a caste census within two months."

It is worth noting that just two days ago, the Election Commission stated it would conduct a similar intensive revision of electoral rolls in five other states—where elections are scheduled for 2026—by the end of this year. The move is part of its "constitutional duty to ensure the integrity of voter rolls." As part of the intensive revision process, election officials will carry out door-to-door verifications to ensure an error-free voter list.