​Juggernaut rolls on: On the third phase of SIR of electoral rolls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a 3rd signifier of its arguable Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, covering 16 States and 3 Union Territories with a combined electorate of 36.73 crore. Given what transpired successful Phase 2 — a staggering net trim of 10.2% successful the rolls — it would beryllium prudent for the ECI to marque structural changes successful however it conducts this 3rd phase, truthful that the disenfranchisement disposable peculiarly successful States specified arsenic West Bengal is not repeated. At least, the workout volition not beryllium hurried done due to the fact that of an impending election. The SIR has produced wide deletions of varying standard crossed States, with West Bengal’s the astir egregious. This was the cumulative effect of the ECI’s reliance connected faulty software, arbitrary criteria, and methodological flaws, which unneurotic led to the removal of a disproportionately higher fig of electors from marginalised and number communities, astir notably successful West Bengal. Across States, the SIR was marked by the centralisation of information and decision-making successful ECI authorities successful New Delhi alternatively than with empowered Electoral Registration Officers successful the States; by booth rationalisation conducted successful parallel with enumeration alternatively than aft it, which obscured the standard of deletions and made it harder for electors to verify their inclusion; and by bundle errors that deleted full sets of duplicate names alternatively than lone the excess entries. Most cardinal of each is the plan of the enumeration process itself, which places the onus connected electors alternatively than connected ECI officials to found eligibility connected the rolls. The aggregate effect of these flaws is disposable successful the data: gender-ratio drops successful the electorate crossed astir each State wherever the SIR was conducted — Tamil Nadu being the notable objection — and mismatches with officially estimated elector-population ratios.

Yet, nary of this has moved the ECI to alteration course. That the lessons of Bihar were not absorbed successful Phase 2 itself raises the suspicion that the insouciance is by design. Worryingly, the Supreme Court of India has chosen managerial supervision implicit adjudication, directing the acceptance of much individuality documents, deploying judicial officers, adjacent arsenic the underlying questions connected Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act and connected the shifting of the load of impervious to electors stay unresolved. As Phase 3 commences, the load present falls connected governmental parties and civilian nine to sensitise electors to guarantee that their enumeration forms are decently processed. The ECI should prioritise cosmopolitan big franchise implicit a method that places the onus of remaining connected the rolls upon electors themselves.