Draft poll roll for Bihar is out, number of voters dip by 65 lakh

Election Commission publishes list after end of first phase of Special Intensive Revision; Patna draft roll has 3.95 lakh fewer voters than the list from January; many on the draft list may still be deprived of voting rights, says INDIA bloc

The number of voters in Bihar has dropped by 65 lakh, according to Bihar’s draft electoral roll, which was published by the Election Commission on Friday after the completion of the first phase of its Special Intensive Revision exercise.

More than 7.24 crore electors in the State filled up enumeration forms and have been included in the draft roll, the ECI said in a statement. There were 7.89 crore voters registered in the 2025 electoral list before the SIR exercise. The ECI has said that most of these 65 lakh “missing” voters have died, registered in two locations, permanently migrated out of Bihar, or are untraceable.

Leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc in the State said the ECI failed to answer their queries about the names left out in the draft list. According to data shared by the office of Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, the State capital Patna has the highest number of 3.95 lakh voters not included in the list. There are more than 3 lakh voters missing from the draft roll in each of the three districts of East Champaran, Madhubani and Gopalganj. Another ten districts have seen a drop of 2 lakh voters each, while 13 districts saw a decline of more than one lakh voters in the draft roll.

Claims and objections

The ECI appealed to all eligible voters to check their names in the draft list, which is available on the ECI portal. If their names are not on the list, they have been asked to fill and submit Form 6 along with the declaration form specified in the SIR instructions, the ECI said. Young first time voters, who have completed 18 years on July 1 or are going to turn 18 by October 1, should also get their names added by submitting Form 6.

Over the next month, the ECI will invite claims and objections by voters on exclusions and inclusions in the list. “In the one-month period from August 1 to September 1, any elector or political party can file claims and objections in a prescribed form before the ERO to add the name of any eligible elector or to delete the name of any ineligible one,” the ECI statement said.

No State-wide compiled list was made available, but booth-wise lists of all the 90,712 polling booths of all 243 Assembly constituencies have been shared with all political parties by the State’s 38 Deputy Electoral Officers (DEO).

Documents still required

However, the voters included in the draft list are still required to submit proof of residence and birth unless they have already done so, using the list of 11 documents which the ECI had listed in the SIR rules. Neither Aadhaar nor voter ID cards are in the list of eligible documents.

INDIA bloc leaders in the State said that there are lakhs of people whose names are on the list but who have not submitted the required documents, warning that such people may yet be deprived of their voting rights. They asked for a full list of the forms which did not have any documents attached, and which did not include photographs.

As per SIR orders, no name can be deleted from the draft electoral roll by the concerned ERO/AERO without giving a hearing to the elector and subsequently passing a written order. Such an order can be appealed before the District Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar.

Opposition parties have dubbed the SIR as an effort to bring in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through a “backdoor” process. They have approached the Supreme Court in the matter, along with several civil society groups. The top court had suggested to the ECI, that it consider Aadhaar and Voter ID cards as proof as well. The next date of hearing has been fixed for August 12.

Detailed data needed: INDIA

At a meeting of political parties organised by the Bihar CEO, INDIA bloc leaders asked how many voters whose names are in the 2003 voter list -- when the last SIR was conducted -- had filled in the current SIR enumeration form, seeking the total number and list of names. They also asked for the registered voter list published on January 7, 2025 to be provided in a pen drive or CD, with the data in an Assembly-wise format. In a memorandum submitted to the Bihar CEO, the INDIA bloc also asked for a detailed Assembly-wise list of those voters who have been removed from the final draft, as well as those who had not yet filled in the enumeration form by the evening of August 2.

Noting that the ECI has said that over 22 lakh registered voters have died, the Opposition leaders asked which documents were taken from the relatives of the deceased voters. Similarly, they asked on what basis a number of voters have been declared “untraceable”.

Unanswered questions

Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan said that there was a clear provision in the Election Representation Act that in case of removal of someone’s name from the voter list, a notice should be issued to the affected voter. Was this followed in the case of 65 lakh voters whose names have been removed from the list, he asked.

“Has this number come to light in just six months after the final voter list published on January 7, 2025?” the INDIA bloc leaders asked in their memorandum. “How many voters were provided with receipts during the SIR process in Bihar?“ they added.

“No satisfactory answer was given by the Election Commission on this. The INDIA bloc asked the Election Commission how many foreign nationals’ names and addresses have been found in the voter list so far. No answer was given to this either,” Mr. Gagan said.

Apart from Mr. Gagan, others present at the meeting included Kumar Parvez of the CPI (ML), Sanjay Bharti of the Congress, and Anil Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), as well as representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party and other political parties.