India Opposition Protests Voter List Revision Ahead Bihar Elections

India's opposition parties have protested vigorously against a controversial revision of the voter list in Bihar ahead of key elections scheduled for November, expressing concerns that the process could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly from vulnerable groups such as minorities and the poor. The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise requires strict documentation like birth certificates and passports, which many in Bihar, one of India's poorest and least literate states, find difficult to obtain. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, have accused the commission of rushing the revision and undermining electoral fairness, with protests leading to police detentions in New Delhi. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) also criticized the lack of transparency in the revision process and demanded public disclosure of the reasons behind the removal of approximately 6.5 million voters from the list. The Election Commission defends the revision as a routine and necessary update to ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls, asserting that no eligible voter will be excluded. However, the opposition's ongoing demonstrations underscore a broader demand for fair and impartial electoral processes in Bihar.