New Delhi: Gopalganj, Kishanganj and Purnia in Bihar saw the highest percentage of voter deletion in the draft rolls released by the Election Commission (EC) pursuant to its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The draft electoral rolls were published 1 August, just months before the assembly election.
According to the EC data, the draft electoral rolls based on the SIR exercise does not include over 65.6 lakh voters from 38 districts in Bihar. Out of this total dip of 65.6 lakh voters—the EC explained—more than 22 lakh had died, over 36 lakh have permanently shifted or were untraceable, and another seven lakh voters have enrolled as electors in multiple places.
Data pertaining to the exercise shows that while Gopalganj saw a 15.01 percent dip in voters as compared to the numbers that it had on 24 June before the exercise began, Purnia saw a 12.08 percent deletion whereas it was 11.82 percent in Kishanganj. These are followed by Madhubani (10.44 percent) and Bhagalpur (10.19 percent).
Two of these five districts with the highest percentage of voter deletions come under the Seemanchal region, which has the highest percentage of Muslim population in the eastern state. Among Bihar’s districts, Kishanganj has the highest Muslim population (68 percent), and Purnia has about 38 percent Muslim population according to the 2001 Census.
The Seemanchal region encompasses four districts of Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar. Also referred to as the Kosi-Seemanchal area, it includes Saharsa, Supaul, and Madhepura along with the aforementioned 4 districts.
A district-wise breakdown of the draft electoral roll revision, seen by ThePrint, shows that voters have been deleted at an average of 8.06percent per district. Out of these 7 districts, four—Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar (8.27 percent) and Saharsa (9.46 percent)—saw deletions above the average percentage of deletions. The remaining three saw deletions below average: Araria (7.59 percent), Supaul (7.81 percent) and Madhepura (6.85 percent).
While Patna district saw the highest dip with 3.95 lakh voters not included in the electoral draft roll, its percentage dip remained below average at 7.84 percent.
The EC has clarified that claims, objections can be filed between 1 August and 1 September to add the name of any eligible elector, or to delete the name of any ineligible elector.
“All eligible electors are appealed to check their names in the draft list, and if their name does not exist in the list, they should fill and submit Form 6 along with the Declaration Form…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, which is appealable to the DM and the CEO,” it said in a press note on 1 August.
The electoral roll exercise is under challenge before the Supreme Court, with pleas filed by several petitioners including Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, Bharat Jodo Abhiyan national convener Yogendra Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, and non-profit organisations Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
The petitioners have alleged that the exercise is arbitrary, and have also questioned the timeline as well as the timing of the exercise, with the Bihar elections set to take place later this year. This, they contend, can lead to removal of lakhs of genuine voters, leading to their disenfranchisement.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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