The Election Commission on Monday made public the names of 6.5 million voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. This action comes in compliance with a Supreme Court directive which ordered the disclosure of all deleted names by August 19 and the submission of a compliance report by August 22.
The removal process targeted absentee, shifted, deceased, and duplicate voters. According to officials, those affected can check their status online using their EPIC number and, if unsatisfied, can file objections.
As a result of this special revision, the total number of registered voters in Bihar has been reduced from 79 million to 72.4 million. Patna district saw the highest number of deletions (395,000), followed by Madhubani, East Champaran, Gopalganj, and other districts.
The Commission claims that this process aims to enhance transparency and maintain the accuracy of the voter rolls. However, opposition parties and some groups have raised concerns over the scale of deletions and lack of proper notice or verification. The Supreme Court also emphasized the need for greater transparency in the matter.
