The Indian Constitution has granted the right to vote to all citizens of sound mind above the age of 18, irrespective of an individual's caste, religion, social or economic status. Voting is not a fundamental right, but is a legal right granted to citizens. No individual can be detained or prevented from voting unless they fulfil the criteria for disqualification. What is the scenario today?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) began a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar state's electoral rolls on July 01, 2025, four months before the state elections. The controversy behind this decision can now be heard in the Parliament, with the monsoon session going on. The SIR's effort is to "ensure that no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll." As per the notification, the new electoral roll will only be released after claims and objections have been resolved. The decided date for the release of the final electoral roll is set for September 30. Approximately 65 lakh voters are expected to be removed from the list.

One of the senior journalists and YouTubers, Mr. Ajit Anjum, travelled to various parts of Bihar during the first phase of SIR. Now, EC has released the first draft of the voter list. Ajit Anjum, in his field visit report and in the EC report, has pointed out certain significant discrepancies:
1.    As per the EC, every person who fills the form must receive an acknowledgement. Ajit Anjum's interview with people revealed that most of the voters never received any acknowledgement.
2.    The staff involved in verification filled thousands of forms on their own.
3.    Hundreds of dead persons' names are found in the draft voter list.
4.    The names of many living persons are missing from the list.
5.    The voter list shows that 200 people live in House No. 3 at Jamui. In another place, 65 people are living in House No. 1.
6.    In one village, the majority of voters have the same name.

All these discrepancies prove how the EC can fool the people and take them for a ride. During his TV debate with Mr. Ashok Lavasa, former Election Commissioner, and Mr. Yogendra on the SIR in Bihar, Mr. Kapil Sibal said, "SIR means Special Irresponsible Revision."

Rahul Gandhi's presentation at a Press Conference, "Democracy Destroyed," on August 7, exposed various malpractices in the electoral rolls. To prove his stand, he gave the examples of the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha and the Assembly segment of Mahadevapura in Bengaluru.

Bitter Reality
1.    Today, the Election Commission, an autonomous body, has become a 'puppet' in the hands of the government. Be it a state-level or national-level election, the EC is favouring the ruling BJP and its allies.
2.    During the last parliamentary election, it was noted in my ward in Bengaluru that many Christian names, including my wife's, were removed from the voter list, and they were deprived of their voting rights.
3.    The EC has utterly failed to stop fake voters. During the last parliamentary election in Kerala, it was found that 4.5 lakh voters had fake voter IDs. Each one had 3 to 4 voter IDs, making them eligible to vote in multiple constituencies.
4.    In many states, old voter lists were followed in which many dead people's names were present, and the living people's names were missing. Many such cases emerged in Tamil Nadu. During the last parliamentary election, fake voters cast ballots in many constituencies in and around Chennai. Many north Indian migrant workers were reportedly hired for this purpose. When the actual voters came to vote, they were shocked to learn that their votes had already been cast.
5.    The Congress MP Mr. Chidambaram mentioned in his recent press release that 6.5 lakh voters from Bihar are being enrolled in the voter list in Tamil Nadu.

Voters Fooled
At this juncture, every sensible citizen must raise a valid question about how and why the voters are fooled repeatedly by political parties. In every election, the EC claims to seize crores of rupees, gold and silver items. The 'culture of freebies' dehumanises people. During the last parliamentary election, the EC claimed to have seized 428 crores of rupees in Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, vast sums of money were seized. What about the unseized "gifts?"

The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) has become the talk of the town in every nook and cranny of the country. Reports about their tampering are galore, and doubts have been expressed about their reliability. Every election has witnessed manipulations and misuses of EVMs. Yet, neither the Election Commission nor the Judiciary has taken note of the proven evidence of EVM manipulations and initiated a ban on EVMs and brought back the paper ballot.

In 2019, 17 Congress MLAs were allegedly purchased by the BJP in Karnataka. As a result, the minority BJP became the ruling party. Such incidents have occurred and continue to occur in many other states, too. No political party makes any concrete promise that their party will not be involved in horse-trading. During the last assembly election in Goa, the Congress MLAs took an oath in temples and churches that they would not switch parties if elected. But… they all violated their oath and joined the BJP. Sadly, the anti-defection law has been silent.

If horse-trading is permitted, then why should there be an election? Why should people vote, and for what? Instead of an election, there could be a 'public auction' of party candidates. The highest bidder can buy as many candidates as possible and be declared the winner. The powerful buyer will form the government with his 'purchased candidates'. This will save people's time, money and energy.

In today's election system, there is no guarantee that my vote goes to the candidate of my choice. We are also not sure whether the elected candidate will remain in the same party till the end of his/her tenure. Horse-trading is a serious betrayal of trust. Many educated people have stopped voting due to the above reasons. This accounts for the reduced voter turnout. Elections in India continue to be a mockery of democracy.