EC published names of 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s draft rolls after SC order.
22.3 lakh dead, 36.2 lakh shifted, 7 lakh duplicate voters identified.
CEC rejected “vote chori” claims; INDIA bloc launched protest yatra.
The Election Commission (EC) on Monday released the names of over 65 lakh people excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, following a Supreme Court directive.
The move comes after the apex court, in an order dated 14 August, directed the EC to publish a booth-wise list of electors not included in the draft roll, issued on 1 August as part of the special intensive revision (SIR), and to file a compliance report by 22 August. Assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year.
According to officials, the EC is publishing the names of ‘ASD’ voters, those marked as Absentee, Shifted, or Dead, across polling booths and is likely to put them online. The Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, said ASD lists have already been displayed at polling booths in Rohtas, Begusarai, Arwal, Siwan, Bhojpur and other districts.
The revision exercise has reduced the state’s voter count from around 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore. Patna recorded the highest number of non-included enumeration forms at 3.95 lakh, followed by Madhubani (3.52 lakh), East Champaran (3.16 lakh), Gopalganj (3.10 lakh), Samastipur (2.83 lakh), Muzaffarpur (2.82 lakh), Purnia (2.73 lakh), Saran (2.73 lakh), Sitamarhi (2.44 lakh), Katihar (1.84 lakh) and Kishanganj (1.45 lakh). At the other end, Sheikhpura saw just 26,256 such cases, followed by Sheohar (28,166), Arwal (30,180), Munger (74,916) and Khagaria (79,551).
The Commission said 22.34 lakh people listed on the rolls were found to be dead. Another 36.28 lakh were recorded as having permanently shifted out of the state or not found at their stated addresses, while 7.01 lakh were identified as being enrolled at more than one location.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar defended the exercise, rejecting opposition allegations of “vote chori” and stressing that the revision was necessary to correct errors before polls.
“It is a matter of grave concern that some parties and their leaders are spreading misinformation on SIR in Bihar… some political parties are firing from the Election Commission’s shoulder,” Kumar said at a press conference. He urged political parties to file claims and objections within the 15-day window still open.
Emphasising transparency, Kumar added, “Doors of the Election Commission are open to everyone, and booth-level officers and agents are working together in a transparent manner.” He questioned whether “vote chori” was possible when “more than one crore employees are engaged in the election exercise.”
Kumar said migration and duplicate voter cards had made the revision unavoidable. “It is a myth that SIR has been carried out in haste. It is EC’s legal duty to correct voter lists before every election,” he noted.
The EC’s announcement came as the INDIA bloc launched its ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, accusing the Commission of acting under political pressure.
