Controversial Bihar Voter List Overhaul To Drop 35.5 Lakh Names, So Far

As speculated by opposition parties, over 35 lakh names are set to be excluded from Bihar's electoral roll as a result of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The Election Commission (EC) has revealed that, as of now, 6.6 crore electors have submitted their enumeration forms. This accounts for 88.18% of the total voters in the state. Voters have time to submit their forms until July 25, after which the draft electoral roll will be published.

The EC shared fresh statistics showing that 1.59 per cent of electors, equivalent to 12.5 lakh voters, were found to have died but their names remain on the list. Another 2.2 per cent, or 17.5 lakh electors, have permanently moved out of Bihar and are no longer eligible to vote in the state. Another 0.73 per cent, around 5.5 lakh, were found to have registered twice.

Taken together, these findings indicate that approximately 35.5 lakh existing voters will be removed from Bihar's voter list. This amounts to more than 4.5 per cent of the total electorate, a significant shake-up ahead of this and future elections.

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Adding to the controversy, the EC also revealed that during field visits, some foreign nationals - from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar - were found registered as voters.

These names will also be removed after further verification.

According to EC officials, the SIR is being carried out to cleanse the voter list, ensuring it reflects current realities such as migration, death, and duplicate registrations. They emphasised that the aim is to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the electoral roll ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly election.

However, the process has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav warned earlier that even the exclusion of 1 per cent of voters per constituency would translate to around 3,200 names being removed in each segment. With the percentage now crossing 5 per cent, the concern is mounting over the impact this revision could have on the electoral outcome.

The matter is also under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing petitions related to the SIR. In its earlier hearing, the court advised the EC to use Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and voter ID cards for proper verification of voters.

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The next hearing is scheduled for July 28.

As the EC races against time to publish the draft roll in the coming 11 days, the revision exercise is turning into a politically charged issue in Bihar. With lakhs of names facing removal and fresh questions being raised about voter eligibility, all eyes are now on how this crucial process unfolds in the days to come.

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