Election Commission’s Special Revision: How Inclusive Is It?

Quick Summary:

• The Election Commission’s special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar aims to update electoral rolls by requiring documents such as birth certificates for voter list verification.
• Lokniti-CSDS conducted a study across six regions to gauge document posession adn its implications for voter verification.
• Findings reveal significant gaps in documentation access,with over half of respondents lacking a birth certificate and other key documents like domicile or caste certificates.
• Documentation absence is particularly acute among economically weaker sections,Scheduled Castes (SC),and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Across States, those born after 1987 face additional requirements of parental citizenship proof. Absence rates for parental birth or SSC certificates exceed 70% in several States like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• Aadhaar-a near-universal form of identification-is excluded from the SIR process, potentially exacerbating barriers for disenfranchised groups.
• Challenges differ geographically: Kerala shows relatively better document possession rates compared to Madhya Pradesh or Assam. Some citizens foresee difficulty obtaining necessary papers if required.

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Tables provided detail State-wise statistics on document possession/distribution gaps.

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