Why was the meeting between the INDIA Bloc and ECI canceled?

New Delhi, July 1 (NationPress) A meeting that was set to occur between the INDIA Bloc and Election Commission of India (ECI) officials regarding the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been postponed due to a lack of confirmation from the political parties involved, according to sources from the election panel on Tuesday.

Insiders at the ECI revealed that although a request for an appointment was made for Wednesday, it appears that the parties have withdrawn from the meeting.

“The Commission requested confirmation from these political entities for a gathering on July 2 at 5 p.m. However, no confirmation has been received so far. As a result, the meeting scheduled for July 2 has been postponed,” stated an official source.

Providing further details, the ECI insider noted, “An email was received on June 30 from a legal representative of AICC, requesting an urgent appointment with the Election Commission for July 2 concerning SIR of Bihar on behalf of multiple political parties, presenting himself as a representative of a multi-party delegation.”

Last month, the ECI initiated an SIR of the electoral rolls to validate the eligibility of all voters in Bihar ahead of the upcoming November-December Assembly elections.

As part of the SIR, the ECI is enhancing its booth-level team by appointing an additional 20,603 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), increasing the total number to 77,895 BLOs across the state.

More than 1 lakh volunteers have also been enlisted to assist authentic voters, particularly senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, the ill, economically disadvantaged, and other vulnerable demographics.

All recognized national and state political parties have designated 1,54,977 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to support the revision process, with the flexibility to appoint more agents as necessary.

Enumeration Forms (EFs) are being distributed door-to-door and are also accessible online for Bihar’s 7.89 crore registered electors across 243 Assembly constituencies.

Out of these, approximately 4.96 crore electors, registered as of January 1, 2003, only need to verify their information and submit the EF.

The ECI has also uploaded the 2003 Electoral Roll of Bihar, which includes details of 4.96 crore electors, on its website as a part of the ongoing SIR facilitation.

Highlighting that nearly 60 percent of the total electorate in the state will not need to submit any documents, the official mentioned that these voters can verify their details from the 2003 Electoral Rolls and submit the completed Enumeration Form.

Both voters and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will have easy access to these details, he added.

The availability of the 2003 Electoral Roll on the ECI website – https://voters.eci.gov.in – will significantly aid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, according to the statement.

The ECI mentioned that District Magistrates and Divisional Commissioners are supervising the deployment of BLOs, who are now fully engaged in the revision process.

Furthermore, the ECI is reaching out to voters through SMS campaigns targeting over 5.74 crore registered mobile numbers in Bihar.