RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday rubbished the Election Commission's claim that more than 35 lakh voters were not found at their registered addresses across Bihar during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The leader of the opposition alleged that the EC had become a "wing" (prakoshth) of the ruling BJP at the Centre and was running a "propaganda upon directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah".

In a statement issued by the EC headquarters at New Delhi on Wednesday, the poll panel had claimed that it had received enumeration forms submitted by about seven crore (88.65 per cent) of the state’s 7.9 crore voters and that the number of electors "not found at their registered addresses" was 35.69 lakh, which accounted for 4.5 per cent of the total.

Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, claimed, "We have information that the EC is under instruction from the ruling dispensation to delete the names of up to 15 per cent of voters. Those living in the riverine (diyara) areas are particularly vulnerable.

He said, "We are opposing SIR per se, but what the EC is trying to achieve in Bihar through its propaganda is dangerous. And we must keep in mind that once these electoral rolls are manipulated for the NDA in assembly polls, these would affect even Panchayat elections to be held later.

The former Deputy Chief Minister also called into question the EC’s claim of SIR, for which a July 25 deadline has been set, progressing at a brisk pace and claimed "till about 15 days ago, there were thousands of polling stations which did not have a designated booth level officer (BLO)".

Yadav also shared a video, now viral on social media, to allege that BLOs have been asked to fill out and sign forms on behalf of voters to meet the deadline.

The video, purportedly of Phulwari Sharif locality in Patna district, has nonetheless been described as "fake" and "misleading" by the district administration.

The RJD leader also sought to know from the EC the "criteria" it would adopt to declare voters as "shifted" from their registered addresses before their names were struck off.

"While some persons may be dead or may have permanently relocated, many such voters may have been in another part of the country for better education or job opportunities. If their names are struck off the electoral rolls, they may subsequently be denied government subsidies and other benefits as their very citizenship will be questioned," alleged the young leader.

"We demand that before deleting any names from the electoral rolls, the EC must share with us all details. We will get things verified at our level to ensure no person is wrongfully deprived of voting rights," said Yadav.

He also said that he will be writing to "political leaders across the country", drawing their attention to the issue "about which concerns have been raised even by an NDA partner like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, even though our own Nitish Kumar is keeping silent".

"I shall also be visiting Delhi later this week to attend the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. I will take the opportunity to raise the matter strongly," said Yadav, who is the coordination committee chief for the opposition coalition in the state, where assembly polls are a few months away.

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