Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Thursday (October 1, 2026) slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) over alleged illegalities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
“The survey teams physically verified lists of deleted voters in these 102 booths, taking into account SIR deletions as well as pre-SIR deletions between January 2024 and June 2025. Among the 9,288 voters deleted in 50 of these 102 booths during the SIR process, 1,550 voters were found alive and residing at their addresses, thus confirming at least 17% error in SIR deletions,” Mr. He added that the survey verified the availability of 351 voters among 1,964 voters deleted in 24 booths before SIR, indicating a very high 18% rate of pre-SIR deletion. In particular, the survey found at least 36 voters deleted as ‘deceased’ very much alive during these door-to-door verification visits, he said. Around 20 voters whose names were allegedly deleted presented their testimonies before a five-member jury comprising Prof.
Mr. The hearing was organised by the Bihar State CPI (ML) Liberation and was based on the findings of a voter verification survey conducted by the party in the districts of Siwan, Gopalganj, Bhojpur, Buxar, Patna, Arwal and Jahanabad. Bharati S Kumar (former Head of the History Department, Patna University), Prof. Ramashankar Arya (former Vice-Chancellor, VKSU Ara), former Bihar Assembly speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, former Congress legislature party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vice president Pushpendra. The jury found the SIR deletions thoroughly unfair and called for action against the CEC, scrapping of SIR and restoration of the voting rights of all wrongfully deleted voters. The public hearing also discussed the decisions taken at INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi and resolved to launch an intensive mass campaign in defence of the principle of universal adult franchise. On the other hand, a lack of accountability is evident in the conduct of public representatives. In some instances, people are slapped, while in others, the arrogance of power is displayed instead of answering the public’s questions,” Mr.
Bhattacharya said that reports emerging indicated that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took decisions within the three-member Election Commission without the consent of the other two members. He said this during a Jan Sunwai (public hearing) in Patna on the issue of wrongful SIR deletions in Bihar. Bhattacharya said.
“Today, the threat is not limited to votes alone; the voter base, ration entitlements, and other civil rights of voters are also being affected.
