More than 65 Lakh voter names absent from Bihar's electoral list, Election Commission faces scrutiny prior to state elections
In the run-up to Bihar's upcoming Assembly elections, a contentious issue has arisen surrounding the revision of the electoral rolls. Allegations of deliberate disenfranchisement have been levelled against the Election Commission of India (ECI), with opposition parties accusing the commission of bias and serious malpractices.
The controversy stems from claims that a large number of voters were flagged for deletion disproportionately in opposition strongholds during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025. The Congress MP, Manickam Tagore, has highlighted that around 6.5 million voters, or 8.3% of the electorate, were flagged for possible deletion, raising concerns about targeting opposition-leaning districts.
The ECI, however, has defended the process, stating that the draft electoral rolls were published after a thorough enumeration phase and no names will be removed without valid reasons. They have emphasised that political parties had the opportunity to file claims or objections against the draft rolls, but none were submitted in the initial days following publication.
The ECI has also involved 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents from political parties in verification and provided online portals for voters to verify or challenge their inclusion status. However, investigations by The Reporters’ Collective suggest that the pre-existing rolls were not as faulty as claimed and that the sudden revision order disrupted the state election machinery.
Civil society groups like the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Bihar Election Watch are preparing ground campaigns to assist voters in filing claims. They argue for public-facing documentation of verification methods to ensure transparency and accountability. Legal experts suggest that petitions challenging the Bihar electoral rolls could soon be filed in the Patna High Court.
The unfolding situation around the Bihar electoral rolls reveals an uncomfortable truth at the heart of India's democracy: that voter lists are instruments of power. Experts warn that the onus placed on voters to prove wrongful deletion creates an uneven burden.
Contrastingly, the ECI maintains the process's legitimacy and transparency, with no claims or objections filed and mechanisms in place for voter verification and correction. The EC has opened a window for "claims and objections" until September 1.
Affected individuals can approach booth-level officers or file grievances online. However, Bihar struggles with rural tech penetration, with less than 40% of its population having access to digital grievance redressal systems. This raises concerns about the ability of many voters to exercise their right to challenge their exclusion from the electoral rolls.
Unless corrective action is taken swiftly, Bihar risks becoming a case study in how electoral revision exercises, if poorly executed or politically weaponized, can cast doubt on the legitimacy of an entire democratic process. Electoral institutions must maintain their credibility not just through rules and regulations but by visibly protecting every citizen's right to vote.
The politically charged atmosphere in Bihar over the revised electoral rolls has led to debates in the realm of general-news, with crime-and-justice implications, as allegations of bias and malpractices have been levelled against the Election Commission of India (ECI). The controversy surrounding the deletion of voters disproportionately in opposition strongholds during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 has raised concerns about transparency and accountability in the voting process.
