New Delhi: After a controversial three-month Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has removed nearly 50 lakh names from Bihar’s eligible voters’ list.
Data released by the ECI Tuesday showed that the number of eligible voters now stands at 7.42 crore. It reflects a decline of nearly six percent from the pre-SIR 7.89 crore electors.
The SIR exercise began in Bihar on 24 June this year.
The draft voters’ list published on 1 August by the ECI, at the time, revealed the deletion of 65 lakh electors. The ECI identified the deleted electors as having died, permanently shifted from their addresses, registered at more than one assembly, or untraceable.
After the publication of the draft rolls, the ECI not only removed an additional 3.66 lakh electors from the list but also added 21.53 lakh new electors, taking the final tally to 7.42 crore voters.
The draft voters’ list had led to widespread allegations of voter fraud by the opposition parties. The Congress and other parties of the INDIA bloc even led a large-scale campaign in Bihar against “vote chori (theft)”.
The ECI ordered the SIR exercise on 24 June across India, but started in Bihar since the assembly elections are scheduled for November this year.
In a press note released Tuesday, the ECI further said, “SIR exercise was carried out in line with Article 326 of the Constitution and ECI’s motto of ‘no eligible voter to be left out, and no ineligible voter to be included in the electoral rolls’ (sic).”
The note added that if any eligible person still wished to apply, they could submit applications for up to ten days before the last date for filing nominations for elections.
If someone wanted to challenge the exclusion of their name, they could make a first appeal before a district magistrate, as well as a second appeal before the chief electoral officer.
In the upcoming Bihar elections, the exclusion of voter names has been a key poll issue.
The Opposition has been targeting the government and the ECI for colluding to remove the names of legitimate voters. The BJP, meanwhile, has been targeting the Opposition for enabling “infiltrators” to vote in the polls.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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