Bihar Final Electoral Roll Released After Special Intensive Revision: 18 Lakh Voters Added

The Election Commission has completed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar, releasing the final electoral list ahead of the Assembly polls.

The Election Commission maintained that this revision, conducted after 22 years, was designed to ensure electoral rolls only contained eligible voters while including those previously omitted. However, the Opposition heavily criticized the timing of this exercise, occurring just months before elections.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav organized a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, alleging the Election Commission was attempting to favor the ruling coalition. The Supreme Court is currently examining petitions challenging this process.

The draft electoral rolls had initially removed 65 lakh voters, including deceased individuals, those who permanently relocated from Bihar, or people registered in multiple locations. The final rolls, released on Tuesday, show an increase of 18 lakh voters compared to the August 1 draft list, bringing the total to 7.42 crore voters from the previous 7.24 crore. When the SIR was announced on June 24, the total electorate stood at 7.89 crore.

Officials explained that while 21.53 lakh voters were added to the draft list, 3.66 lakh were subsequently removed for failing to submit supporting documentation despite filling enumeration forms, resulting in the net increase of 18 lakh.

Muzaffarpur district saw an increase of 88,108 voters, bringing its total to 32,91,478 from 32,03,370. Patna district gained 1,63,600 voters, while Nawada district added 30,491.

Electoral roll data has been published at https://voters.eci.gov.in/, where voters can verify their registration status.

During a September 8 hearing, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as identity proof for voter registration, adding it to the list of 11 acceptable documents. The court clarified, however, that Aadhaar could not establish citizenship.

Justices Surya Kant and Joymlaya Bagchi expressed confidence that the Election Commission, as a constitutional body, was following legal requirements in the SIR process. Nevertheless, they warned they would intervene and potentially invalidate the entire process if any irregularities were discovered.

The next Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for October 7, while the Election Commission will assess poll preparedness in Bihar on October 4 and 5. Election dates are expected to be announced following this visit.