CEC rejects ‘vote theft’ charge, says EC not afraid of baseless allegations from political parties

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday dismissed allegations of “vote chori (theft)” in Bihar as baseless, stressing that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is meant only to rectify shortcomings.

“It is a matter of grave concern that some parties and their leaders are spreading misinformation on the SIR in Bihar,” Kumar said at a press conference. He urged political parties to file claims and objections on the draft rolls, pointing out that 15 days were still left in the process.

Reiterating that the Election Commission cannot discriminate between ruling and opposition parties, Kumar said both are equal before the poll authority. “Neither the EC nor the voters are scared of such baseless allegations. Over one crore officials are engaged in the election process. Can vote theft happen in such a transparent system?  All those were aimed to confuse voters,” he asked.

Kumar also noted that the Constitution allows election petitions within 45 days of the results, but instead of following due process, some parties were raising unfounded charges. He assured that the Commission will continue to work with all stakeholders, including booth-level officers and party agents, to ensure transparency.

Kumar dismissed allegations of irregularities in the electoral rolls, clarifying that “house number zero does not mean fake voters, as many people do not have a house number.”

He also explained that multiple voter cards often occur due to migration and other reasons, but rejected claims that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was done in haste. “It is the EC’s legal duty to update and correct voter lists before every election,” he said.

The CEC described the SIR as a “true response” to complaints of discrepancies in Bihar’s electoral rolls and urged all recognised political parties to flag errors before September 1. “No voter’s name will be deleted without proper verification. The EC stands like a rock with every elector,” he asserted.

The remarks came as Congress and the INDIA bloc partners launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar against the alleged “vote chori.” Addressing the event in Sasaram, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Commission of colluding with the BJP to manipulate voter rolls, and vowed that the Opposition would resist any attempt to “steal” the upcoming Assembly polls.