ECI trust crisis: Why Lokniti-CSDS survey shocks Indian politics | Sanjay Kumar explains

Published on August 19, 2025 Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti-CSDS and a seasoned psephologist, offers a lucid critique of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, a first such exercise in over two decades. He notes the need to excise duplicates and update obsolete entries—but warns that the heavy documentation requirements and exclusion of widely held ID proofs (such as Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter ID) risk disenfranchising large segments of voters, especially migrants and those added after 2003. He states that, although the SIR is framed as a lawful effort to ensure accuracy, its implementation—requiring voters to proactively submit forms and supplementary documents—could unfairly penalise many, undermining the very democratic inclusivity it purports to uphold. The process's timing and its narrow geographic focus on Bihar have amplified political anxieties that the revision may be leveraged for partisan gain rather than electoral hygiene. Opposition voices, including the INDIA bloc, decry what they view as systemic bias; legal challenges and protests allege the exercise privileges the ruling coalition by selectively excluding likely dissenting voters. Amidst mounting political heat, the Supreme Court intervened on 14 August 2025 with interim directions: the ECI must disclose the names and reasons for deletion of over 65 lakh electors, allow Aadhaar and EPIC to support objections, and publish data at district and booth levels. Kumar’s concerns thus resonate beyond procedural critique—they underscore how administrative reform must tread carefully to reinforce, not erode, democratic legitimacy. Credits: Interview by Saba Naqvi Produced by Abhinav Chakraborty and Saatvika Radhakrishna Subscribe to Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/online... Follow us on: Facebook - / frontlineindia Twitter - / frontline_india Instagram - / frontline.magazine LinkedIn - / frontline-magazine-b12921295