Final Bihar Rolls Released, Have 18 Lakh More Voters Compared To Draft List

In a much-awaited development for Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls, the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process has concluded with the Election Commission releasing the final electoral list. 

The SIR, which the Election Commission said was intended to ensure only eligible voters remain on the electoral rolls and include those that are missing, had come under intense scrutiny and criticism by the Opposition. Questioning the timing of the revision, just months before the elections, leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and others, including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, had also taken out a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, accusing the Election Commission of attempting to help the ruling coalition.

In the revision, which was being done after a gap of 22 years, 65 lakh voters had been removed from the draft electoral rolls, including those who had died, permanently moved out of Bihar, or were registered as voters in multiple locations. The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions against the exercise.

In the final rolls released on Tuesday, the number of voters has gone up by 18 lakh compared to the draft list, which was put out on August 1. The number after that list was 7.24 crore, which has now increased to 7.42 crore. The total number of electors as on June 24 - when the SIR was announced - was 7.89 crore.

The actual addition compared to the draft list, officials said, is 21.53 lakh, but the figure got reduced to 18 lakh as 3.66 lakh voters were removed. These voters had filled up enumeration forms and had got included in the draft list, but failed to submit the supporting documents.

As many as 88,108 voters have increased in Muzaffarpur district, from 32,03,370 in the draft roll to 32,91,478 now. In Patna district, the number has gone up by 1,63,600 and by 30,491 in Nawada district.

The data of the electoral rolls has been uploaded on https://voters.eci.gov.in/ and voters can also check their names on the same portal. 

Hearing a petition on September 8, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as proof of identity for addition to the voter list and include it in the list of 11 other documents for the purpose. It had clarified, however, that Aadhaar could not be used to establish citizenship.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymlaya Bagchi had said it believes that, being a constitutional body, the Election Commission is following the law and mandatory rules in carrying out the SIR process. At the same time, it said it would intervene and the entire process could be set aside if any illegality was found. "What difference will the final publication of the list make to us if we are satisfied there is some illegality?" Justice Kant had remarked during a later hearing on September 15. 

The next hearing in the case is on October 7, and the Election Commission will visit Bihar to take stock of poll preparedness on October 4 and 5. The dates for the election are expected to be announced after that.