Overview

• The Election Commission defended its court-monitored Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, saying 5.6 million names were struck off to remove deceased individuals, migrants, duplicates and untraceable voters.
• Opposition MPs led by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi staged symbolic protests in Parliament by tearing SIR documents, and TMC’s Mahua Moitra demanded Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over alleged partisanship.
• India bloc parties filed legal challenges in the Supreme Court and petitioned the Election Commission for full data access, arguing that strict ID requirements unfairly disenfranchise poorer and migrant communities.
• TMC’s Sushmita Dev warned that 3–4 million names could be cut from Assam’s rolls, and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari claimed up to 12.5 million “illegal” names in West Bengal, prompting pushback from regional leaders.
• The dispute has sharpened identity and migration politics, with the BJP framing SIR as a purge of illegal immigrants and opponents accusing it of communal targeting ahead of key state polls.