ECI Voter-Roll Overhaul in Bihar Sparks Backlash as Kishor Foresees Power Shift

The Election Commission of India has launched a special intensive revision of Bihar’s electoral roll ahead of the state election expected in November 2025. Under the exercise, voters must submit proof of birth and birthplace—varying by age group—within a month or risk having their names deleted from the list. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien condemned the move, saying the Commission “should not turn into a branch office of the BJP” and accusing it of re-introducing a National Register of Citizens “through the back door.” He said opposition parties in the INDIA bloc would raise the matter inside and outside Parliament. Political strategist Prashant Kishor, who leads the Jan Suraaj outfit, said public fatigue with decades-old leadership from Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav is driving demand for change. “Bihar will get a new chief minister in November,” he predicted, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party could suffer electoral setbacks. Kishor argued that improvements in education are essential for any “radical transformation” of the state and criticised rival leader Tejashwi Yadav’s campaign giveaways as superficial.