The landslide victory of BJP led NDA in Bihar assembly election has raised many eyebrows. Because there were reports that grievances against the misrule of the BJP-JD (U) government had piled up so much so that it might reflect in the form of anti-incumbency mandate in the polls.
But those who are aware that elections in the country are no more held in the desired democratic manner but shrewdly manipulated by money, muscle, media, administrative powers, such a wash out of the opposition has not caused much surprise. Because the ruling monopolists have been standing solidly behind the BJP, which is excellently serving their vested class interest and hence adopting all necessary trickeries, manoeuvres, devices and deceptive measures to ensure smooth passage of the BJP to power.
Sans People’s Issue, Bihar Election was a Saga of Manipulative Exercises
Most notably, not a single people’s issue like spiralling prices, spurt in unemployment, rise of migration of the poor to other states, drastic fall in the standard of life of the toiling millions, 36% poverty, severely underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure characterized by significant shortages of doctors and staff, a lack of basic amenities and functional equipment in hospitals, and inadequate provisions for diagnostic services and essential medicines, high school drop-outs etc., featured during electoral campaign. Instead, not only the ruling BJP-JD(U), even the opposition alliance (Mahagatbandhan) also worked their electoral arithmetic based on caste composition thereby providing fillip to sustaining the casteist divides, a bane of feudal backwardness. A Union Minister, who swears an oath under the Indian Constitution when he takes office, has, in a controversial speech declared from a public forum he does not want the votes of the “namak haram,” or the ungrateful, in a remark that appears to be aimed at the Muslim community, weeks before the Bihar assembly elections.
Hawk’s Eye on Bihar Election
One would recall that in the last union budget, a slew of packages were announced for Bihar. In fact, only the name of Bihar was pronounced several times in the budget speech. That means, the BJP knew that unless the hoodwinking of the people of Bihar was not undertaken well in advance, returning to power might not be smooth. Secondly, the BJP has also been pursuing its crass communal Hindutva agenda in full swing. And the prime theme of that agenda is to make a string of hate speeches against the Muslim minorities, harassing as well as persecuting the Bengali-speaking Muslim citizens by terming them illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and thereby polarize the voters along religious lines and consolidate Hindu vote bank. In Bihar election also, this scheme was in full operation. Alongside, it cunningly invoked the issue of illegal infiltration of Muslim people from neighbouring Bangladesh. The BJP leaders and their alliance partners raised this hue full throttle as if identifying and deleting the names of “lakhs” of intruders unlawfully residing in this country was the prime issue. Fact checkers, however, assert that claims about Muslims being “infiltrators” have no factual basis and that data shows fertility rates among Muslims have dropped significantly, faster than other communities.
SIR a Hoax
Hence a drive known as Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voter list was undertaken with unusual hurry to “cleanse the electoral roll”, an exercise that requires at least several months was completed in just 30 days. As we discussed in Proletarian Era dated 15-11-25, the real objective was to spread terror of being disenfranchised in case one failed to comply with the fiats of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which has virtually turned an appendage to the ruling dispensation.Moreover, on the pretext of identifying illegal migrants, the Muslim minorities were under the radar for being deleted from the electoral roll under this or that pretext. Moreover, the aim was to remove the voters who are presumed to be opposed to the ruling combination.
What had been the outcome of SIR? The electorate shrank from 7.89 crore in June 2025 to about 7.42 crore in September 2025 – a net drop of roughly 47 lakh voters. According to ECI’s own bulletin, about 65 lakh names were struck from the draft roll, another 3.66 lakh removed in the final list and only 21.5 lakh additions made, thus, the number of electorate ended up at about 7.42 crore. According to the ECI’s own handbooks, voter verification during intensive revisions relies heavily on name-matching and proof-of-residence procedures.
Anomalies Galore
Despite all claims of purifying the voter list, anomalies were galore in the list published after SIR. “Reporters’ Collective”, an internationally known organization found out over 34,392 cases where the same person had been provided two unique identities to vote twice in the same assembly constituency. In each of these cases, the voter had been registered twice on the draft voter list with the same name, relative’s name and the age either matching or ranging between 1-5 years. In another 13,898 cases across these 15 constituencies, persons have been given two voter identities with the same name and relative’s name, but the age differs on the two voter identities by 5-10 years. The ECI was required to identify double voters (terms as ‘demographic similar entries’ in its jargon) using sophisticated computer programmes and ground verification, before the draft list of voters was prepared. But without doing that, the ECI claimed to have removed 7 lakh duplicate voters, suggesting that there was no more cleaning needed to do on this count. For example, in the Laukaha assembly constituency, 19-year-old Ankit Kumar has been registered to vote twice. His father’s name, Anil Mahto, and even booth number are the same – 371. But he has been registered with two voter identity numbers, ZQQ3191681 and ZQQ3217643.
In 39 assembly constituencies in Bihar, there exist 1,87,643 cases where people with the exact same name and relative’s name have been registered twice within the same Bihar assembly constituency. Of these, in 1.02 lakh cases, the two voter IDs carry the same names and record an age difference of only up to 5 years. In 25,862 cases, people have been registered to vote twice, with all their credentials matching names, names of relatives, and ages.The total votes of these dubious cases in the 39 constituencies add up to 3.76 lakhs.
More than 5,000 voters were found to have been simultaneously enrolled in neighbouring UP’s voter list and Bihar’s bordering constituency, Valmikinagar draft electoral roll as well. What was significant was that breaching its own guidelines and previous practices, the ECI did not deploy the specialized software programmes at its disposal to identify potential fraud, duplicates, and incorrect entries in the finalized Bihar voter list. Thus, the final Bihar voter roll for all 243 assembly constituencies held 14.35 lakh suspect duplicate entries. Of these, 3.4 lakh entries were exact matches on all three demographic parameters: name, relative’s name, and age. These fraudulent or duplicate voters did have the potential to impact election results. And last but not the least, while the ECI had said on 24 June that one of the reasons for the conduct of the SIR so close to the elections was the presence of ‘foreigners’ on the voter rolls, the poll body did not provide any figures of the number of such foreigners found at the end of the exercise. Of the just 313 infiltrators detected in Bihar, only 78 were Muslims which proved that the major theme in the BJP’s electoral campaign about the presence of thousands upon thousands of ‘illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants’ was nothing but a hoax.
Further, more than 1.32 crore voters of different families, castes, and communities were bundled and registered in groups of 20 or more at dubious and fictitious addresses in the final Bihar list. There are at least 20 households where more than 650 people have been clubbed and registered wrongly. The draft electoral lists for 39 assembly constituencies contained 16,375 cases where individuals with the exact same voter ID details were registered twice at the same address or in proximate polling booths.
And then days after the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections, media reporters uncovered the case of voters — all associated with the BJP — who voted in Bihar as well as in some other state. After the second phase, at least four more such cases where the name of a voter was listed in more than one state and they had voted in two or more states, were detected. One of them voted in three states: Bihar, Delhi, and Haryana.
Ajit Jha, an editor with the Right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia, posted a photo of himself on social media after voting in the Bihar assembly elections on 11 November 2025. He voted in the Benipatti assembly constituency. Previously, he shared a photo on social media after voting in the Haryana assembly elections on October 5, 2024. He also posted a photo on social media after voting in the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections on 4 December 2022.
Sanjay Jha, co-convenor of the BJP Delhi hawker cell, posted a photo of himself on social media on 6 November 2025 , stating that he had voted in the Darbhanga Rural assembly constituency, Bihar. Previously, he had posted a photo of himself on 6 February 2025, stating that he had voted in the Delhi assembly elections. Furthermore, he shared a photo on social media after voting in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on 26 May 2024.
A person named Uday Kumar posted a photo of himself on social media after voting in the Bihar assembly elections on 11 November 2025. The image showed Upgraded Middle School, Nawada, in the background. On enquiry, it was found that he had two active EPIC numbers: one in Bihar (EPIC No. UAO0928291) and the other in Karnataka (EPIC No. SOH4526935). A review of Uday Kumar’s profile reveals that he lives in Bangalore and has posted photos with several BJP leaders. (source: Alt News 15 and 16 November 2025)
‘Legalized’ Bribing
Speaking at the inauguration of Bundelkhand Expressway in Jalaun in Uttar Pradesh on 16 July 2022, Mr. Modi said the “revri culture” of distributing freebies for votes would take the new India towards darkness. Targeting the opposition, he held that “People of revri culture feel that by distributing such doles to people, they could buy them. Together we need to defeat this thinking. Revri culture needs to be removed from the country’s politics.” But the same PM Modi launched Bihar’s ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana’ on 26 September 2025 wherein transfer Rs. 10,000 was promised to be credited to the bank accounts of each of the 1.25 crore women across Bihar. The total expenditure on this account was estimated to be Rs 7,500 crore. It was also stated that after 6 months, Rs 2 lakhs would be given to each of them for starting small business. Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA) specifically designates providing any money or gratification to voters to influence their vote as a corrupt practice. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force in Bihar on 6 October 2025, the same day the ECI announced the schedule for the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. The MCC was effective from that date until the election results were announced, and it also applied to the central government regarding any policy decisions for Bihar. MCC stipulates that “announcement of new projects or programme or concessions or financial grants in any form or promises thereof, or laying of foundation stones, etc., which have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power is prohibited”. Even People’s Representation Act 1951 clearly stipulated it.
It bears recall that in 2011 assembly polls, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu was ordered by the ECI to stop the distribution of free colour TV sets during the period when election model codes of conduct were in force. ECI barred the state government from disbursing approximately 14,000 crore under six welfare schemes, including farmer aid, just before the May 2024 polling dates. But the BJP-JD (U) alliance flagrantly violated these codes and credited the accounts of the women voters by Rs 10, 000 even 6 days and 4 days respectively ahead of the two polling dates. Not only that. 1.80 lakh women who received Rs 10,000 each were recruited as volunteers (Jibika Devi) in election duty so that they could influence the voters to support the BJP-JD(U) alliance. Moreover, by dangling the carrot of providing Rs 2 lakhs more to each woman after six months, female electorates were coaxed to vote in favour of the ruling alliance.
Not just that. Four special trains were arranged to transport people from Haryana to Bihar for casting votes. The entire cost of not only transportation but food and lodging was borne by the BJP. The “voters” so transported themselves said this in camera when asked by the correspondents of ABP News. Once again we refer to the ‘Representation of People’s Act 1961’ which specifically states that “The hiring or procuring, whether on payment or otherwise, of any vehicle or vessel by a candidate or his agent or by any other person …or the use of such vehicle or vessel for the free conveyance of any elector (other than the candidate himself, the members of his family or his agent) to or from any polling station” shall be deemed to be a corrupt practice.
Non-Access to CCTV Footage of Polling Booths
Rule 93(2) (a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, allowed public access to certain election related documents. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in a verdict directed the ECI to share all election-related documents, including CCTV footage from Haryana Assembly elections. To prevent such access, the BJP-led central government had amended Rule 93 to restrict public access to certain election-related documents including CCTV footage of polling centres. There is no doubt that the amendment did compromise transparency and accountability in the electoral process. Moreover, as we had shown earlier, though India’s Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are touted as tamper-proof, But each contains a microcontroller chip that stores votes in “burnt memory.” A Supreme Court directive in April 2024 had ordered random verification of 5 per cent of these chips. The ECI quietly ignored it. Further, there has been a persistent demand that all Form 17Cs (which contains number of eligible voters of the polling station, identification number of EVM and total number of votes recorded per EVM; etc.) be made public, EVM chips audited, and the vote tabulation software subjected to third-party review. So far, none of these steps has been taken. Why should the government in league with the pliant ECI do so unless it wants to hide something?
A Subservient Election Commission
That the ECI is subservient to the ruling BJP is proved on three counts. First, the selection procedure of the Election Commissioner has been changed. Now a panel of the Prime Minister, another Cabinet Minister of PM’s choice and the leader of the Opposition constitutes the selection board. Replacement of Chief Justice of India by a Cabinet Minister in the panel indicates that the government only wants to nominate its chosen person as Election Commissioner. Accordingly, the ruling party is handpicking persons who would remain loyal to it. The present Chief Election Commissioner served as Joint Secretary to the BJP Government in the Ministry of Home Affairs from 2016 to 2018 and is stated to be very close to Home Minister Amit Shah. He later served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, where he played a role in managing internal security and policy coordination. Secondly, the BJP government passed a Bill in 2023 which states that no court anywhere in India can take any case against Election Commissioners for any civil or criminal offense that they committed during their tenure. Even the President of India does not have such criminal immunity. And thirdly, since the postings of government officials during election time are within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission, possibility of preferential treatment or nepotism cannot be ruled out.
Other Factors which Affected Election
As already stated at the outset, elections in India are no more rigging-free. Rigging does not only mean booth capturing or forced stamping. Rigging includes biasing voters with freebies, reckless spending of money in the form of cash doles, organizing feasts and distribution of liquor, continuous propaganda in favour of this or that bourgeois party or combination in the monopoly-controlled media, using administrative machinery to influence voters or tampering electoral process, thumping around of armed criminals and miscreants aided and abetted by the ruling party or relatively strong bourgeois opponents, giving tickets to mafias and dons to scare people of voting against them and so forth. Alongside, anti-Muslim tirade by the BJP was on the peak. BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur also saying that if a daughter goes to a ‘non-believer’s house’, her ‘legs should be broken’. Giriraj Singh, the BJP’s MP from Begusarai, who told a poll rally in Arwal district on Saturday that “citizens who accept government welfare have a moral obligation to vote for the ruling party.” PM Modi chose to play the “Ghuspaithiya” (infiltrator) card ahead of elections. He also intensified his rhetoric against the opposition by using communal references, including coining the acronym ‘‘MMC” (Muslim League Maoist Congress) to ridicule the opposition. But no action was taken against them for violating election guideline.
Secondly, the ruling circle and its pliant media had virtually painted the election as a duel between the BJP-JD(U) alliance and Mahagatbandhan (Grand Alliance) of Congress, RJD, CPI (ML), CPI (M), CPI and few others. As indicated above, caste-based politics dominates in Bihar. All the power monger bourgeois parties, both national and regional, base their electoral battle on the caste composition-based demographics of the constituencies. While the social necessity is to free people from the casteist mindset and imbue them with democratic thoughts, casteist exclusion only gets sustained. RJD functions on Y-M (Yadav-Muslim) equation while Nitish Kumar who belongs to Kurmi community is after nurturing the OBC vote bank. The BJP besides cajoling its traditional vote bank, the upper caste Hindus, also sought to woo a section of the backward castes and so called dalits with lure of lucre. Moreover, while the BJP with the active support of the RSS and the government machinery controlled by JD(U), its alliance partner, neatly operationalized its voting machinery, the Mahagatbandhan could not show a united face with bargaining over seats continuing till last moment. In some of the constituencies, the Mahagatbandhan allies fought against each other. Also Rahu Gandhi, who organized a Vote Adhikar Yatra (Right to vote rally) two months ahead of election suddenly vanished from the scene and went to Latin America for his personal work. So, the people could not rely on the Mahagatbandhan and the women in particular who received Rs 10,000 on the eve of election tilted towards the BJP. Combination of all these factors worked behind massive victory of the BJP alliance.
What was the Need of the Hour
While the need of the hour was to spearhead a united mass movement under the combined leftist leadership involving the suffering masses rising above all divides, it is regrettable that the self styled Marxists like the CPI (ML), CPI (M) and CPI too took no initiative towards that end despite our repeated requests. They simply paid no heed to that. Instead, they preferred to be partners of casteist sectarian bourgeois vote politics and joined hands with the Congress, another trusted representative of the ruling monopolists and the corruption-tainted RJD just for the sake of a few seats. It is reported that many of their supporters sympathizers also did not like their pure vote-based politics and abandonment of the path of movement. Had the desired struggling left alternative being materialized, people could have found a left alternative to the rightist bourgeois vote merchants and could fight election as a part of the ongoing mass movement. Our Party fought alone on its organizational strength and highlighting our revolutionary leftist line in 39 constituencies and secured support from the saner section and left minded people. We once again appeal to the other left parties to shun the company of the Congress and other casteist-communal outfits and come forward to develop the desired united organized sustained mass movement on the burning problems of life. That and that only can thwart the victory march and rule of the arch reactionary bourgeois vote merchants.
