(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Election Commission of India has uploaded the 2003 electoral roll of Bihar, comprising details of 4.96 crore electors, on its website, the poll panel said on June 30.

These 4.96 crore electors do not need to submit any document , the poll panel said. It also said that the children of these 4.96 crore electors need not submit any other document relating to their parents.

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The Election Commission 's clarification comes days after Opposition parties – including the Congress, the TMC, the RJD and left parties – raised objections to the poll panel's 'Special Intensive Revision' of electoral rolls just three months ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar.

The ease of availability of 2003 Electoral Rolls of Bihar, would hugely facilitate the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar as now nearly 60 per cent of the total electorate, would not have to submit any documents, the poll panel said.

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"They (4.96 crore voters) have to just verify their details from the 2003 Electoral Rolls in the electoral rolls and submit the filled-up Enumeration Form, it said.

Children need not submit any other documents

Further, as per instructions, anyone whose name is not in the 2003 Bihar Electoral Roll can still use the extract of 2003 Electoral Roll rather than providing any other documents for his/her mother or father, the poll panel said.

“In such cases, no other document would be required for his/her mother or father. Only the relevant extract/details of the 2003 ER would be sufficient. Such electors would have to submit the documents, only for themselves, along with the filled-up Enumeration Form,” it said.

Beginning June 25, the Election Commission is holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar. This means electoral rolls for Bihar will be prepared afresh.

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The move sparked a political row, with the Congress opposing it, saying it risks the willful exclusion of voters using the state machinery. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the move“more dangerous than NRC (National Register of Citizens )” and alleged that her state, which heads to polls next year, was the real 'target'.

Door-to-door survey

In the process, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are conducting a house-to-house survey for verification during the process of this intensive revision.

In the previous special intensive revisions, BLOs would go house to house with an 'enumeration pad' to be filled by the head of a household.

This time, however, each voter in a household will have to submit an individual enumeration form. Voters added to the electoral rolls after January 1, 2003 - the year of the last intensive revision - must provide proof of citizenship.

The ECI's Form 6, which registers new electors, requires applicants to sign a declaration that they are citizens, and not furnish documentation proving the fact . The ECI has now added a new declaration form requiring proof of citizenship for the special roll revision exercise in Bihar.

Documents such as passport, birth certificate, SC/ST certificate, an extract of one's parents' name in the electoral roll of Bihar as of January 1, 2003 will be considered as a sufficient documents to prove citizenship.

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The other documents are pension payment order, permanent residence certificate, national register of citizens, family register by local authorities, and land allotment certificate, to name a few.

Key Takeaways

• 4.96 crore electors in Bihar are exempt from submitting documents for the electoral roll revision.
• Children of existing electors also do not need to submit additional documentation related to their parents.
• The Special Intensive Revision process aims to facilitate voter registration ahead of the assembly elections.

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