A survey by Bihar’s chief electoral officer soon after the Lok Sabha polls last year found that 98.9 per cent of respondents were correctly enrolled on the electoral roll, prompting the Congress to ask what then was the need for the special intensive revision that is embroiled in a controversy.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) surveys — before and after elections — are conducted by chief electoral officers or external agencies commissioned by them in every state. These surveys help poll authorities identify barriers to enrolment and voting, and to evaluate the performance of their publicity material for voters.

The KAP surveys, however, do not capture data on suspected foreigners on the rolls, if any, or the presence of dead or shifted voters, which are issues that the SIR aims to resolve. Bihar’s KAP endline (after-poll) survey shows that the errors were negligible in last year’s rolls. Several instances of inaccurate data being entered during the month-long enumeration process of the SIR have been reported.

The report released in January covered 41,013 respondents and was conducted in four polling station areas each in the 243 Assembly segments.

It said: “While over 98.9% respondents’ details were correctly enrolled in the electoral roll, 31.8% of the respondents acknowledged that a few of their family members were eligible yet not enrolled in the voter list…. Over 88% respondents cited complexities in getting their EPICs, a long process (83.8%), uncooperative officials and inaccessibility of the office concerned.

“A fairly high number of respondents (98%) were also aware about the electoral roll (voter list in common parlance) and over 99% knew about their names being enrolled in the electoral roll. Lack of awareness featured as a major reason (76.5%) for the respondents whose names were not enrolled in the voter list.

“One of the most striking findings was that 99.1% of respondents attributed their decision not to vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to the extreme heat…. However, the provision of facilities like tents, water and ORS (oral rehydration salts) was acknowledged by 87.8% of respondents, showing that the ECI had taken steps to mitigate these challenges.

“Moving forward, more comprehensive climate-adaptation strategies could be implemented, such as the establishment of early voting options during cooler hours and improving polling station facilities to ensure voter comfort.”

The weak point, however, was enrollment. The report said: “Female enrollment still lags behind census figures (sex ratio) for Bihar. As reported in the survey, few of the respondents’ family members remain unenrolled, further underlining the need to maximise electoral registration.”

More women than men have reportedly been struck off the rolls after the SIR.

Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “Clearly, the ECI did not believe that there was any compelling need to conduct SIR of Bihar’s electoral rolls as recently as January. What has changed since then? Was it perhaps the plea of a PM desperate to secure his post and safeguard his ramshackle NDA coalition through the promise of a rigged election in Bihar? The SIR is less about cleansing electoral rolls, it is more about destroying democracy itself.”