Gender Disparity in Bihar's Electoral Roll: Women Voters Face 6.1% Decline Ahead of Elections

Gopalganj recorded the highest reduction of women voters, with a significant decrease of 15.1 per cent or 1.5 lakh.

Patna:

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has published the final electoral roll for Bihar following the completion of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise before the upcoming state elections. According to the ECI data, there has been a substantial reduction in voter numbers - the total electorate has decreased by roughly 38 lakh, falling from 7.8 crore on January 1, 2025 to 7.4 crore in the final electoral rolls.

The decline has disproportionately affected women voters.

While male voters decreased by 3.8 per cent (15.5 lakh), women voters experienced a more pronounced decline of 6.1 per cent (22.7 lakh). This gender disparity in voter deletions could have significant political implications as women voters are crucial to both major political alliances in Bihar.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, a program that provided Rs 10,000 each to 75 lakh women to promote self-employment.

District-Wise Analysis

Gopalganj registered the highest reduction of women voters, with a decline of 15.1 per cent or 1.5 lakh - decreasing from 10.3 lakh in January to 8.3 lakh in the final electoral rolls.

Madhubani had the second-highest decrease, losing 1.3 lakh women voters, while Purvi Champaran experienced a decline of 6.7 per cent or 1.1 lakh voters.

Saran and Bhagalpur each recorded considerable losses of approximately 1 lakh women voters.

Notably, all five districts share borders with either neighboring states or countries - Gopalganj and Saran with Uttar Pradesh, Madhubani and Purvi Champaran with Nepal, and Bhagalpur with Jharkhand.

Male voters also underwent substantial reductions, though less severe than women.

Madhubani led with the removal of 95,000 male voters (decreasing from 17.4 lakh to 16.4 lakh). Patna followed with a reduction of 90,000 (from 26.3 lakh to 25.4 lakh). Other districts with significant deletions included Saran (86,000), Purvi Champaran (85,000), and Gopalganj (80,000).

Electoral Implications

Most voter deletions across both genders occurred in six districts - Gopalganj, Madhubani, Purvi Champaran, Saran, Bhagalpur, and Patna. Together, these areas represent 59 assembly constituencies.

In the 2020 Bihar assembly election, the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) or Grand Alliance secured 25 of these seats, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 34.

According to a post-election survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), voting patterns between men and women in 2020 were relatively similar. Approximately 38 per cent of women supported the NDA, while 37 per cent voted for the MGB. Among male voters, 36 per cent backed the NDA and 38 per cent favored the MGB.

The election results were extremely close, with the NDA leading the MGB by a margin of just 11,150 votes.

Considering the narrow margin in the previous election, the extensive voter deletions, particularly among women voters, could play a decisive role in the forthcoming elections.