Bihar’s voter list shrinks 6% after revision, but foreigners barely figure in deletions

The Election Commission’s (EC) much-touted Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls has ended with a dramatic 6% shrinkage in the state’s voter base — but with almost no evidence of foreigners being struck off.

The final roll published on September 30 lists 7.42 crore electors, down from 7.89 crore in June when the EC launched the three-month exercise amid Assembly poll preparations.

While the poll panel had defended the SIR in the Supreme Court as a citizenship verification exercise, sources confirmed that nearly 99% of the 68.6 lakh deletions were due to death, migration or duplication, not non-citizenship. This outcome has triggered sharp questions on why existing voters were made to meet such a high documentary bar.

At the draft roll stage, 65 lakh names were removed — 22 lakh marked dead, 36 lakh recorded as migrated or absent, and 7 lakh deleted for duplication. Another 3.66 lakh deletions followed in the claims-and-objections phase, again overwhelmingly for the same reasons. By contrast, just 21.5 lakh new electors were added.

The impact was also felt in gender balance: women’s share among Bihar’s voters dipped from 47.75% in January to 47.15% after the revision, according to sources.

The EC has defended the move as a constitutional duty under Article 326, saying the process aimed at ensuring “no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible person included.” It also noted that appeals remain open before district magistrates and the Chief Electoral Officer.

The exercise, however, sparked controversy from the outset. Opposition parties alleged that the Commission had overstepped its authority by effectively introducing a citizenship check. For the first time since 2003, even existing voters enrolled after that year were asked to submit documents to establish their date and place of birth, and in some cases those of their parents.

Though the Supreme Court declined to stay the revision, it did intervene to lower the exclusion risk by directing that Aadhaar be accepted as an additional proof of eligibility.

With Bihar’s experience now under scrutiny, the EC is expected to review whether the SIR should be rolled out nationwide. A decision is awaited, even as the state heads into elections in November under a trimmed voter list that raises more questions than answers.