Pure voters’ list strengthens democracy: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Against the backdrop of Opposition parties questioning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday asserted that a “pure” voters’ list is the key to strengthening democracy.

Addressing the inaugural session of an international conference of election management bodies here, he also highlighted that not one complaint was filed challenging the inclusion or exclusion of electors during the roll revision exercise in Bihar last year.

Kumar also noted that not even a single repoll was ordered in the two phases of the Bihar Assembly elections in any of the one lakh polling stations.

“Pure electoral roll, including each and every elector as per law, is essential to strengthen democracy and all elections which will be held on the basis of that electoral roll,” CEC Kumar said.

He said the electoral rolls in Bihar were revised amid tight public scrutiny. From the purification of rolls to the conduct of elections, a great level of efficiency was achieved by the local poll machinery, he said.

Opposition parties have been attacking the BJP Government and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that it is a move to manipulate votes.

However, the Government and Election Commissioner (EC) have denied the charge. Phase II of the SIR began in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on November 4 last year. In Assam, a separate ‘special revision’ of electoral rolls is in progress.

The last SIR in the states serves as the cut-off date, just as the 2003 voter list of Bihar was used by the ECI for intensive revision. Most states had the last SIR of the voter list between 2002 and 2004.

The primary aim of the SIR is to weed out illegal immigrants by checking their place of birth. The move assumes significance in the wake of a crackdown in various states on illegal migrants, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Describing the faith placed by citizens in the election management bodies (EMBs) as precious, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said that at the heart of every election is a citizen, believing that their choice will be respected, and it is the collective responsibility of EMBs to protect it.

Speaking at the inaugural session, EC Vivek Joshi said that the International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM)-2026 brings together EMBs, researchers, students and practitioners who view elections from different angles and contribute to their respective institutions.

Nearly 100 delegates from around 70 countries are attending the IICDEM-2026, the largest conference of its kind ever hosted by India in the field of democracy and election management.