65 lakh voters may be axed from Bihar’s rolls as EC wraps up massive revision drive

In a sweeping electoral cleanup exercise that has sparked both administrative praise and political pushback, the Election Commission of India has announced that nearly 65 lakh voters — 8% of Bihar’s registered electorate — are likely to be removed from the draft rolls following the conclusion of Phase 1 of the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The EC stated that the revision, launched on June 25 and concluded on July 25, covered 99.8% of Bihar’s estimated 7.89 crore electors. A total of 7.23 crore voters submitted their verification forms, which have since been digitized. The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 1.

Among the 65 lakh names facing deletion:

• 22 lakh were found to be deceased,
• 7 lakh appeared multiple times across locations, and
• 35 lakh had either permanently migrated or were untraceable.

The EC said it has shared this preliminary deletion list with 12 national and state political parties.

While lauding the coordinated effort, the EC acknowledged the sensitive nature of the process and said further deletions could occur before the final roll is released on September 30, pending scrutiny of voter-submitted documents. A crucial claims-and-objections window from August 1 to September 1 will allow voters and parties to contest exclusions or flag ineligible names.

“The credit for this unprecedented exercise goes to the entire election machinery in Bihar, including 1.60 lakh Booth Level Agents from all major political parties,” the EC said in a statement, emphasizing cross-party involvement and field-level verification across 77,895 polling booths.

Political storm and legal flashpoint

The ambitious cleanup — framed by the EC as a voter-verification mission ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections — has sparked a political firestorm.

Opposition leaders, particularly from the RJD and Congress, have accused the EC of attempting large-scale disenfranchisement under the guise of electoral hygiene. RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav warned his party may boycott the polls if “genuine voters” continue to be removed arbitrarily. The Congress declared that “all legal and democratic options remain open.”

Concerns have centered around the burden of proof placed on voters to establish their eligibility, especially those enrolled after January 1, 2003, who must now furnish documentary evidence of age and citizenship. While the EC had initially stated these documents must accompany verification forms, it later clarified—amid backlash—that they could be submitted during the claims-and-objections period.

Several petitions challenging the SIR’s legality and fairness are now pending before the Supreme Court, which is expected to take up the matter in August.

Underlying anxieties

On the ground, the verification exercise has sparked anxiety, particularly among marginalized communities, religious minorities, and rural electors. Reports indicate widespread unease across social groups — from Extremely Backward Classes and Muslims in Seemanchal to upper-caste families in Nalanda and Vaishali — raising fears of bureaucratic errors and targeted exclusions.

Despite the EC’s assurances of transparency and redress, the process has turned the state’s electoral landscape volatile — adding legal, political, and communal dimensions to what began as a technical update to voter rolls.

As the final phase of the revision looms, the battle over who gets to vote in Bihar may be just beginning.