NEW DELHI: The latest update to Bihar’s electoral roll has revealed significant deletions and adjustments with 1,672,513 names removed, marking an overall increase of 1.60% in the voters’ list compared to that of 2020.
The final voter list following the SIR was officially published on September 30 by the Election Commission. In response to concerns raised by parties and civil society groups, the Supreme Court had earlier directed the EC to provide detailed information about the deletions. The Court’s order emphasised transparency in the revision process. Consequently, the EC allowed voters to file appeals if they believe their names were unjustly removed.
A total of 30,98,228 claims were filed through Form 6, which is used to add new names to the list. Of these, 28,95,191 claims were accepted, meaning 93.4% of the applications for inclusion were approved.
At the same time, 18,45,408 objections were lodged through Form 7, which is used to remove names that may be invalid, such as those of deceased or shifted voters. Out of these, 16,85,844 were admitted, showing that 91.3% of the objections were found valid.
The cleanup saw changes in all 243 assembly seats, with total numbers decreasing in 14 seats and increasing in 229 others. The deletions were due to three reasons: death of voter, relocation, and duplication of entries. Specifically, 631,195 names were deleted due to death, 809,948 due to shifting to other places, and 231,370 due to duplication of names in the rolls. Among the constituencies, Parihar recorded the highest total deletions. The highest number of shifted voters was reported from Chakai, while Dehri saw the highest number of duplicate deletions.
Across all 243 seats, the average number of deletions per seat stands at 6,882.77. For the Mahagathbandhan-held seats, the average is 6,660.36, while for JD(U)-held constituencies, it is 7,130.95. In 65 constituencies, the deletions exceeded the victory margin in the last election.
