Bihar SIR farce S2E1: ECI says ‘no complaints received’

At a press meet on 31 August, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said 89 lakh complaints on irregularities during the recently concluded SIR (special intensive revision) in Bihar were submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI). All were rejected. The ECI, on the other hand, says it has not received a single complaint. And so, the plot thickens.

Some mediapersons wanted to know how the number of complaints exceeded the number of voters deleted — a ‘mere’ 65 lakh, by the ECI’s own admission.

Bihar Congress spokesperson Rajesh Rathore explains: “The number of complaints was not limited to deletions alone, it included discrepancies, errors and additions. In several cases, the same voter had to register more than one complaint for different reasons.”

Interestingly, the ECI diluted its own case by saying that the complaints were filed in the ‘wrong format’. How did it know, since, by its own admission, no complaints had been received?

While conceding that he couldn’t confirm that all 89 lakh complaints were filed using the correct form, Rathore also said the ECI was making excuses to dodge charges of irregularities in the SIR exercise. As per the ECI, Form 6 is for adding new names (usually first-time voters), Form 7 is for objections or deletions and Form 8 is for corrections or transposition of electoral roll details. Submitting a complaint on plain paper might well be all the ECI needs to refuse to register genuine voters who were left out of the electoral rolls.

Khera was emphatic: “Booth Level Agents (BLAs) had filed objections on behalf of voters whose names were deleted and submitted them to the District Election Officers (DEOs).”

Speaking to National Herald, he elaborated that when the party’s BLAs attempted to file objections, they were told complaints would only be accepted from individuals, not political parties.

Rudy the Rajput breaks free?

Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the BJP MP from Saran, created a stir during his recent visit to Samastipur. His team plastered the city with posters bearing his image, alongside Maharana Pratap and the slogan ‘Jai Sanga’ — a combination clearly meant to evoke Rajput identity and pride. Conspicuous by their absence were the name of his party and the mandatory mugshot of PM Modi.

In the middle of election season, this omission triggered wild speculation. Is Rudy distancing himself from the BJP? Or is this an early attempt at cross-party Rajput mobilisation? Rajputs make up less than four per cent of Bihar’s population and have traditionally backed the BJP, especially in constituencies where the party fields a Rajput. The posters seemed deliberately defiant. Or was there something else afoot?

The omission of the prime minister’s image could indicate his dropping popularity ratings in Bihar. The Asia Cup 2025 hockey tournament (29 August–7 September) in Rajgir was also devoid of posters and hoardings bearing Modi’s image — chief minister Nitish Kumar loomed large instead.

Rajput mobilisation hurt the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party lost three neighbouring seats — Aurangabad, Arrah and Karakat — to the INDIA bloc. Union minister R.K. Singh lost in Arrah, in Buxar the RJD’s Sudhakar Singh won, in Aurangabad, Abhay Kushwaha, also with the RJD, defeated the BJP’s Sushil Kumar Singh.

Rudy’s discomfort with his party surfaced during the recent elections for the post of secretary at New Delhi’s Constitution Club — a position of considerable influence, as all sitting and former MPs are members.

As the serving secretary, Rudy faced off against fellow BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan, widely believed to be home minister Amit Shah’s nominee. Rudy won the contest — with visible support from the Opposition. This outcome sparked speculation that an unforgiving Amit Shah might decide to cut Rudy to size. Speculation intensified when a senior Congress leader, asked whether Rudy might back the Opposition’s vice-presidential candidate B. Sudershan Reddy, remarked: “He will act according to his conscience.”

The BSP factor

The announcement that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would field candidates in all constituencies in the forthcoming Bihar election did not come as a surprise. The BSP tends to contest most seats; in 2020, the party garnered a significant 4.17 per cent of votes polled and won two seats in the state Assembly.

The question being asked is: who might the BSP hurt more, the NDA or the INDIA bloc? The BSP’s support base is largely confined to constituencies adjoining Uttar Pradesh and among the Jatavs, who constitute six per cent of the population and whose loyalty is divided across parties.

AICC secretary and Bihar Congress co-in charge Shahnawaz Alam believes BSP chief Mayawati has no larger ambition than to keep the party afloat. While he admitted that local factors and candidates fielded by her would influence the outcome, he pointed out that several former BSP leaders in Bihar — including ex-MLA Zakir Hussain and former Sasaram MP Manoj Ram — had joined the Congress.

CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal believes it would be incorrect to assume the BSP will only eat into INDIA bloc votes — “Mayawati can hurt the NDA as well, particularly in districts bordering Uttar Pradesh such as Kaimur and Rohtas.” He noted that Dalits, who make up around 19.65 per cent of Bihar’s population, have been drawn towards NDA allies like Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular), LJP and JD(U) under BJP–RSS influence, splintering the vote even further.