EC must ensure that no eligible voter left out in Bihar assembly polls: CPI

Patna, Oct 7 (PTI) CPI general secretary D Raja on Tuesday said the ‘constitutional duty’ of the Election Commission is to ensure that no eligible voter is left out in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

Talking to reporters here, the Left leader said questions were raised over the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, conducted by the commission, in poll-bound Bihar.

“The ECI has announced dates for the Bihar assembly elections. Questions were raised on the special intensive revision of the electoral roll, carried out by the EC in Bihar, and only after the Supreme Court’s intervention, Aadhaar and other documents were allowed for registration. It is the constitutional duty of the EC to ensure that no eligible voter is left out in the polls. Right to vote must be ensured by the EC," Raja said.

It is the duty of the authority concerned to ensure that the credibility of the EC is restored, he said.

“The EC should also ensure that free and fair elections are conducted in Bihar...EC's SIR exercise had created many problems, and we (our party) raised these issues. The SC had to intervene in it," Raja said.

The total number of electors in poll-bound Bihar came down to 7.42 crore in the final electoral roll published on September 30 from 7.89 crore before the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list was carried out by the Election Commission.

The final figure was, however, more than 7.24 crore electors named in the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh voters from the original list on various accounts, including deaths, migration and duplication of voters.

The assembly elections in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11, while the counting will be done on November 14.

Asked about seat-sharing arrangements in the 'Mahagathbandhan' for the Bihar polls, Raja said, “It will be sorted out very soon and we will fight in a reasonable number of seats in the coming assembly polls." PTI PKD BDC