CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya has said the controversial SIR (Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls) process could spark public outrage and ultimately backfire on the BJP-led NDA in the upcoming Bihar elections.
In an interview with Timeline, Bhattacharya criticised the exercise as a “dirty game” aimed at disenfranchising large sections of the population—particularly migrant workers, poor rural women, and young first-time voters. “People are being harassed. They don’t have the documents. Come August, this will create chaos in every village,” he warned.
He said the move was not just about data verification, but a direct attack on the constitutional right to vote. “SIR has brought home the crisis of the constitution to every elector. This is about saving the franchise itself,” he said.
Despite the potential disruptions, Bhattacharya remained hopeful. “This will enrage people. Bihar has never taken things lying down. It resisted the Emergency. It will resist this too,” he asserted, drawing parallels with past political uprisings.
Blaming the NDA for a governance failure, he said, “This is not double engine growth. It is double engine failure.” He cited rampant poverty, rising unemployment, a growing debt crisis, and lawlessness as symptoms of a collapsing state apparatus.
According to Bhattacharya, the NDA’s slim victory margin in 2020 and the INDIA bloc’s gains in South Bihar in 2024 indicate a shifting political tide. “Had Nitish Kumar not switched sides, the Bihar result would have been more decisive than even UP. There would be no Modi 3.0,” he said.
He also believes that the public is seeing through BJP’s “conspiracy” and will respond decisively. “There’s a clear direction. The scale may not yet be large, but people are ready. If allowed to vote, they will deliver a fitting rebuff to the NDA.”
Bhattacharya said the INDIA bloc is already preparing a common manifesto and strategy. “We are finalising everything—despite the chaos. And I am sure this time Bihar will give a decisive mandate for change.”
