From ‘sure’ to ‘probable’, ECI shifts stance on 35 lakh Bihar’s missing voters, seeks recheck

Within a span of two days, the Election Commission (EC) has shifted its stance on over 35 lakh voters from Bihar who have either died or permanently moved away. Initially confident in its figures, the EC is now rechecking the data through booth-level officers (BLOs) and political parties.

On July 14, the ECI, in a statement regarding the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, reported that out of 7,89,69,844 electors, 6,60,67,208 (83.66 per cent) forms had been collected. It stated that 1.59 per cent of voters were deceased, 2.2 per cent had permanently relocated and 0.73 per cent were enrolled in multiple locations. Cumulatively, this suggested that 88.18 per cent of electors had either submitted forms, died, retained their names in one place or moved away.

The July 14 data indicated that 12.55 lakh (1.59 per cent) registered voters had died, 17.37 lakh (2.2 per cent) had permanently left Bihar and 5.76 lakh (0.73 per cent) had duplicate entries. Combined, these figures pointed to around 35.5 lakh voters being removed from the rolls, a substantial 4.5 per cent reduction in the electorate, with potential implications for upcoming elections.

However, in subsequent statements on July 16 and 17, the EC retained the same numbers but altered its phrasing, describing the figures as “probably deceased” and “probably permanently shifted”. EC officials told The Tribune that the revised wording reflected an ongoing reverification process involving BLOs and political parties.

The possibility of nearly 35 lakh names being struck off Bihar’s voter list has sparked political controversy, particularly as many of these voters were being labelled as fake.

Meanwhile, the EC has dismissed claims made in a viral video showing BLOs allegedly filling out voter forms, calling the allegations false in a post on X.