Magadh Gains Maximum Voters, Seemanchal Loses Most In Bihar List Revision

Bihar's Magadh region, which includes Patna, has seen the highest voter addition rate, and the minority-dominated Seemanchal region has recorded the highest voter deletion rate in the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in the election-bound state.

The Election Commission yesterday published the final voter list for Bihar following a revision exercise that sparked a massive political row. The poll body issued a statement, thanking electors, political parties, and other stakeholders for their support.

The final list contains the names of 7.42 crore eligible voters. This is 18 lakh more than the 7.24 crore names in the draft list and 47 lakh less than the 7.89 crore names before the revision exercise. The Opposition had earlier raised concerns that the Special Intensive Revision would lead to large-scale deletion of voters, a charge the poll body had trashed.

Seemanchal In Focus

The minority-dominated Seemanchal region has recorded the highest voter deletion rate among Bihar's key regions -- 7.7 per cent. This region comprises four districts -- Kishanganj, Purnea, Katihar, and Araria -- and has an average Muslim population of 48 per cent. While the average voter deletion rate across Bihar stands at 5.9 per cent, these four districts have reported higher rates -- Kishanganj at 9.69 per cent, followed by Purnia (8.41 per cent), Katihar (7.12 per cent), and Araria (5.6 per cent). Voter additions in Seemanchal stood at 2.4 per cent, close to Bihar's overall voter addition rate of 2.3 per cent.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the RJD-Congress alliance won 7 out of Seemanchal's 24 seats, the NDA scored 12 wins, and the AIMIM won 5. Four of the AIMIM MLAs later switched to RJD.

Among districts, Gopalganj recorded the highest voter deletions in the state, with 12.13 per cent of names in the voter lists removed during the Special Intensive Revision. Gopalganj is RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav's home district. In the 2020 Assembly polls, the NDA won four out of its six Assembly seats, and the other two went to Mahagathbandhan.

The Magadh Gain

Magadh saw the highest voter addition rate among the Bihar regions. Comprising seven districts, Magadh recorded an average voter increase of 2.6 per cent. Patna recorded the highest voter addition -- 3.4 per cent -- among Magadh's districts. This translates to 1.6 lakh new voters.

In the 2020 Bihar election, the Mahagathbandhan dominated Magadh, winning 30 out of the 47 seats. The NDA managed only 17. In the Lok Sabha election, too, the NDA did not fare very well.

In the run-up to the election, the BJP is focusing on Magadh seats to ensure a better result this time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Gaya and laid the foundation for development projects worth Rs 12,000 crore, signaling the NDA's focus on this region.

Politics Over Final List

The publication of the final list after the voter list revision has started another round of political skirmishes. The BJP has launched a scathing attack on the Congress, with senior party leader Amit Malviya saying that the Congress did not file a single complaint or objection with the poll body for the inclusion or deletion of any name from the voter list.

"This exposes Rahul Gandhi's disingenuous politics. His Yatra wasn't about democracy; it was about misleading people and shielding illegal migrants. A direct threat to India's national security," Malviya said, referring to Gandhi's Voter Adhikar Yatra in poll-bound Bihar. "This so-called 'Vote Chori' narrative is nothing but a sham - a pretext to mask impending electoral defeats and undermine India's faith in the democratic process."

Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram has said the Special Intensive Revision was a deception from the outset. "It was a process neither demanded by the public nor by political parties. Despite this, it was conducted with such carelessness and lack of transparency. Its fairness and transparency remain questionable," he said.