'EC orchestrated SIR drama': Jairam Ramesh hits out after discrepancies in final voter list; calls poll body 'B-team of BJP'

NEW DELHI: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday alleged irregularities in Bihar’s final electoral roll following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. He claimed that the entire process was orchestrated to benefit the ruling BJP.

In a post on X, Congress leader wrote: “The Election Commission has orchestrated the entire SIR drama at the behest of the BJP. Even the claims of reforms by the Election Commission in the final SIR are proving to be false.”



He alleged that reports from across Bihar confirm that the sole purpose of the exercise was to provide a political advantage to the ruling party and its allies.

Ramesh further accused the Election Commission of acting as the BJP’s “B-team".

He claimed that even after the SIR process, multiple irregularities in the final list show that the Election Commission has ignored the Supreme Court’s orders and is acting as the BJP’s B-team.

Highlighting specific discrepancies, he demanded an explanation from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He observed that 247 voters were found in a single household and some names appeared multiple times on the same polling booth.

“How are such massive irregularities surfacing in the final voter list? Or will they, as before, maintain their silence?” he questioned.

The Congress leader also flagged the deletion of about 47 lakh voters’ names compared to the pre-SIR list, pointing out that in some constituencies, the number of removed names exceeds the victory margin from previous elections.

He added that the Election Commission’s lax functioning and politically biased policies were affecting India’s democracy and international image.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had released the final electoral roll for the Bihar Assembly elections after completing the SIR exercise.

The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, down from 7.89 crore as of June 24. A press release by the ECI stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, while 21.53 lakh eligible electors were added, bringing the final tally to 7.42 crore voters.

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