As the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar spreads confusion and leaves people scrambling for documents, political parties are reaching out by boosting their presence on the ground.
While all parties have shown a steep increase in workers enrolled as Booth Level Agents (BLAs), the rise is sharper among Opposition parties, which hope the outreach will pay off in the coming Assembly elections.
Since the SIR began on June 25, the Election Commission data shows, the total BLAs across parties in the state has risen by 13%, from 1,38,680 to 1,56,625.
BLAs are nominated by political parties, which submit a formal application to the Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer in this regard, who clear the names after verification. The basic requirement is that the BLAs be residents or registered voters of the polling area assigned to them.
As per data shared by the EC, between June 25 (when the SIR was announced) and July 2, the opposition INDIA bloc, comprising the RJD, Congress and Left groups, deployed an additional 17.51% BLAs, boosting their total from 56,038 to 65,853.
The NDA, led by the BJP and JD(U), saw a comparatively lesser surge of 10.86%. However, their total BLA count still remains more than the INDIA’s, rising from 80,083 to 88,781.\
With the poor and disadvantaged (including minorities) likely to be the worst hit – as they don’t have many of the documents on the EC’s list of 11 for enrolling on the voters’ list – the Congress which is counting on these groups for votes has nearly doubled its BLA presence, from 8,586 to 16,500 – a 92.17% jump.
The party’s ground network has been shrinking in the state, in line with its falling electoral prospects.
Left parties, which generally have a devoted cadre, also showed a substantial rise. Starting from much smaller bases compared to other parties, the CPI(M) saw a 660.53% increase, from 76 to 578 BLAs, while the CPI (ML-Liberation) had a 445.49% rise, from 233 to 1,271 BLAs.
However, the RJD, the mainstay of the INDIA bloc in Bihar, which finished with the largest number of Assembly seats in 2021, had only mobilised 0.77% more BLAs till July 2, a minor rise from 47,143 to 47,504.
The BJP, which finished second in 2021, also added barely 1.39% more BLAs in the period, going up from 51,964 to 52,689. However, the party already has the strong grassroots network among parties.
In contrast, BJP ally JD(U) – which has been ceding ground to its partner in the state – boosted its BLA numbers by 24.13%, taking its total from 27,931 to 34,669.
The offshoots of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) have also boosted their BLA presence. Together, the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party led by Pashupati Kumar Paras, and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan had 2,457 BLAs before SIR started. They had 3,066 by July 2, a rise of more than 24%.
Of them, Paras — now out of the NDA — had 1,913 BLAs, and the Chirag-led party that is an NDA ally had 1,153.
Among the parties which have stepped up its activity on the ground is the BSP. Not a strong factor in Bihar, it went up from 26 to 74 BLAs in the eight-day period, a 184.62% rise.
The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) led by Upendra Kushwaha – which was earlier known as the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and is a part of the NDA now – increased its numbers too, but by a minimal 2.27% from 264 to 270.
New entrants such as the National People’s Party and Aam Aadmi Party appointed 3 BLAs and 1, respectively.
By July 9, the half-way mark in the EC’s month-long enrolment exercise, which ends on July 25, the poll panel claims to have received 57.48% of the forms distributed to voters.
The electoral body has said that all those who submit their forms by July 25 will be included in the draft voter list, set for publication on August 1. Applicants can submit the supplementary documents after this date as well, which will be checked by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to determine eligibility, with the final rolls to be published on September 30.
The EC has deployed 77,895 Booth Level Officers to carry out the enrolment exercise, adding 20,630 newly appointed ones to their ranks. Additionally, around 4 lakh volunteers have been deployed to assist the elderly, disabled, sick, and vulnerable individuals who may require help with filling forms.
The process is being overseen by the Chief Electoral Officer, with the assistance of 38 District Election Officers, EROs of the 243 Assembly Constituencies, and 963 Assistant EROs.