EC's Draft Electoral Rolls Out in Bihar; 7.24 Cr Voters Enlisted, Over 65 Lakh Names Dropped

Non-inclusion reasons: Death (22.34L), migration/absence (36.28L), duplicate registration (7.01L)

- MPOST BUREAU

The Election Commission on Friday issued the much-awaited draft electoral rolls for Bihar, listing 7.24 crore voters while removing more than 65 lakh names, citing death or migration as the primary reasons.

Prepared under the special intensive revision (SIR)—an exercise that has stirred controversy for being undertaken only months before the assembly elections—the draft rolls are now available online for public access.

The EC has also distributed printed, district-wise copies to political party representatives, allowing them to identify and report any discrepancies during the "claims and objections" period, which will remain open until September 1, ahead of the release of the final rolls.

However, the main opposition party, the RJD, was unhappy with the system and in a memorandum, submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, it demanded an 'assembly segment-wise' break-up conveniently downloaded "in a pen drive or on a CD".

The Congress, which is the second-largest constituent of the INDIA bloc in the state, also challenged the EC to disclose "how many foreign nationals" were found to have been included in the voters' list prior to SIR and whether they have been dropped in the 'draft electoral rolls.

Notably, the BJP-led NDA, which rules the Centre as well as the state, has been alleging that "a large number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas" were living in Bihar, especially in the Kosi-Seemanchal region bordering Nepal and Bangladesh.