The Indian Parliament is bracing itself for a turbulent winter session as the Opposition, still reeling from a devastating defeat in the Bihar assembly elections, threatens to stall proceedings over the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The session, opening on December 1, 2025, has become a flashpoint for deepening political divides and rising anxieties ahead of crucial state polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Pondicherry.
According to The Federal, the atmosphere was already charged before the first gavel fell. On November 30, leaders from both the Treasury and Opposition benches met to hash out an agenda. The INDIA bloc—a coalition of opposition parties—made it clear: unless the Centre agreed to a substantive discussion on SIR on the very first day, they would disrupt Parliament, echoing the chaos of the previous monsoon session. While the government offered a compromise—debating SIR within the larger context of electoral reforms—the Opposition, united by fresh fears after the Bihar loss, was in no mood to settle.
“We will not allow the House to function if the government refuses a debate on the SIR,” Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav reportedly told government representatives, as cited by The Federal. The threat was not idle. The Opposition’s resolve seemed only to harden with every reference to the SIR’s rollout across nine states and three Union Territories, including regions set for elections in the coming year. Even the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)—not a member of the INDIA bloc—joined the chorus, voicing concerns about the transparency and timing of the voter roll revisions.
The SIR has become a lightning rod for controversy. Opposition parties allege that the process, ostensibly aimed at updating electoral rolls, has been marred by mass deletions, particularly in Bihar, and is now being replicated elsewhere. They also raised alarm over reports of suicides among Booth Level Officers tasked with implementing the SIR, adding a tragic dimension to an already fraught debate.
But SIR is only one item on a laundry list of grievances. The INDIA bloc, as reported by The Federal, is also demanding time to discuss the November 10 Red Fort car explosion, national security, rising air pollution, the role of obstructionist Governors in Opposition-ruled states, and the Supreme Court’s recent opinion on the Presidential Reference case. Gaurav Gogoi, Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, encapsulated the party’s stance: “There must be discussions on national security, the security of democracy, security of voter lists and election security, economic security, health security in light of rising air pollution, and natural security considering the increasing frequency of extreme weather events.”
The government, meanwhile, insists that the legislative agenda—thirteen bills and supplementary demands for grants—must take precedence. With just fifteen sittings scheduled until December 19, critics like Congress’s Jairam Ramesh and Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien have lambasted the session’s brevity, calling it the “shortest winter session” in Parliament’s history and evidence of an ongoing erosion of parliamentary democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule.
Behind the scenes, the Opposition’s unity is under strain. The INDIA bloc’s newfound solidarity over SIR masks simmering mistrust, exacerbated by the Bihar poll debacle. As The Federal details, relations have soured between key partners—Lalu Yadav’s RJD, Congress, the Left parties, and the JMM, which felt sidelined during seat negotiations. In Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference and Congress are drifting apart. Some leaders, including those from the CPM, National Conference, DMK, and NCP-SP, have voiced a preference for compromise over perpetual disruption, hinting at a desire to present their views through Parliament rather than grind proceedings to a halt.
While the national drama unfolds, Bihar itself is preparing for its own momentous session. According to Hindustan Times, the first session of the 18th Bihar Assembly begins December 1, with newly elected MLAs taking their oaths amid heightened security and a festive display of lights at the Vidhan Mandal in Patna. The five-day session will see the election of the Speaker on December 2—an event drawing speculation, with BJP’s Prem Kumar considered a frontrunner, though an unopposed election is likely given the opposition’s depleted numbers. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is scheduled to address both houses on December 3, followed by a vote of thanks and debate on the supplementary budget later in the week.
The session is expected to be lively. The RJD and its partners have resolved to raise the issue of alleged malpractices in the SIR process and the recent demolition of homes belonging to weaker sections in Nalanda’s Rahui block. “The opposition would take up issues concerning the state during the session including the demolition of houses of weaker sections at Rahui block in Nalanda and also the SIR conducted in the state in a hasty manner,” RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan told Hindustan Times.
Yet, the mood within the opposition Mahagathbandhan is far from celebratory. As Times Now reports, the alliance is riven by infighting following its crushing defeat in the November 6 and 11 assembly polls. The NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, swept to power with 202 out of 243 seats, leaving the Mahagathbandhan with just 35. The Congress, which fielded 61 candidates but saw only six win, has publicly questioned the value of its alliance with the RJD. “There was a clear feeling among most candidates that the party may have fared better on its own,” Congress legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan told the press. RJD leaders, for their part, have dismissed the criticism, with state president Mangani Lal Mandal asserting, “Whatever votes the Congress has received are because of the RJD. They have little base left in the state.”
The cracks within the Mahagathbandhan were visible throughout the campaign, with seat-sharing disputes and “friendly fights” in multiple constituencies undermining opposition unity. The BJP, quick to exploit these divisions, has mocked the alliance’s lack of ideological cohesion. “The Congress and the RJD were fighting during elections and they continue to do so even now. This was bound to happen since their alliance does not have any ideological base nor is there any common commitment to the people’s cause. The rift is only going to widen,” said BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, as quoted by Times Now.
Despite these internal squabbles, the Mahagathbandhan has attempted to present a united front, unanimously naming RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s leader in the House ahead of the assembly’s inaugural session. But with four Congress MLAs still in Delhi and only two present in Patna, the show of unity remains fragile at best.
As Parliament and the Bihar Assembly both open their doors, the coming weeks promise no shortage of drama. Whether the Opposition can maintain its united front—or whether internal fissures will again hand the initiative to the ruling NDA—remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the debate over SIR and the future of Indian democracy will be anything but quiet.
