6.28% women voters deleted from rolls in Bihar ahead of polls

A significant 6.28 per cent of women voters in poll-bound Bihar have been left out of the state’s electoral rolls, according to the final list released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on September 30, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Of the 3.5 crore women voters in Bihar, 22.7 lakh names have been deleted — a development likely to impact the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. The large-scale removal of women voters in a politically crucial state is expected to influence strategies of the ruling BJP-JDU alliance, which has emphasised women’s welfare in its agenda.

On October 3, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar transferred Rs 10,000 to each of 25 lakh women beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, bringing the total beneficiaries to one crore women since the scheme was announced on August 29. Earlier, on September 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formally launched the scheme, transferring the first instalment to 75 lakh women.

The deletion of a large chunk of women voters could emerge as a significant issue ahead of the elections. While male voters also saw a reduction of 3.8 per cent (15.5 lakh names deleted out of 3.92 crore men), the gender gap in deletions is likely to affect the strategies of both major alliances — the ruling BJP-JDU and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (RJD-Congress-Left).

Five districts witnessed the highest deletion of women voters in Bihar, led by Gopalganj, which recorded the highest reduction in women voters, with a 15.1 per cent decline (1.5 lakh female voters out of the total 3.5 crore female voters), followed by Madhubani (1.3 lakh women voters’ names deleted) and Purvi Champaran (1.1 lakh, 6.7 per cent). Saran and Bhagalpur districts also saw deletion of around 1 lakh women voters.

Incidentally all five districts share their borders with either a neighbouring state or Nepal. Gopalganj and Saran districts share their borders with Uttar Pradesh, Madhubani and Purvi Champaran with Nepal, and Bhagalpur with Jharkhand.

The highest voter deletions took place across six key districts — Gopalganj, Madhubani, Purvi Champaran, Saran, Bhagalpur as well as Patna — which collectively hold 59 Assembly seats.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the opposition Mahagathbandhan had secured 25 of these seats while the NDA had won 34 seats.

With such narrow margins, the deletions could significantly influence election outcomes.

The ECI will visit Patna from October 4-5 to assess poll preparations, with Assembly elections expected to be announced soon and likely held in three phases.