Opposition Slams Bihar’s Final Voter List, Calls SIR Exercise Unfair and Disenfranchising
Discrepancies in new voter additions, mass deletions, and alleged religious bias draw sharp criticism from opposition leaders.
New Delhi: The final voter list for Bihar, released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, has sparked a political storm, with opposition leaders accusing the Commission of overseeing a flawed and exclusionary revision process. The controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has come under fire for allegedly disenfranchising lakhs of voters particularly Dalits, Muslims, and backward communities.
Political activist Yogendra Yadav raised concerns about discrepancies in the figures presented by the ECI. In a post on X, Yadav pointed out that while the Commission said 16.93 lakh Form-6 applications were received for new voter registrations until September 1, the final data shows 21.53 lakh new voters added.
“How did at least 4.6 lakh names get added after September 1?” Yadav asked, questioning the transparency and legality of the revision process.
Mass Deletions and Alleged Bias
According to the final rolls, 7.42 crore voters remain in Bihar a drop of nearly 6% from the 7.89 crore listed as of June 24, the day the ECI launched the SIR. This means over 68 lakh voters were removed during the revision.
Bihar Congress President Rajesh Kumar called the process “deeply flawed” and “opaque,” alleging that it lacked both transparency and fairness. He said the party would take all steps to protect people’s right to vote.
“While the EC is calling this a success, over 68 lakh voters were deleted and only 21.53 lakh were added how is that fair?” Kumar asked.
‘Opportunity for BJP to Harass Voters’: Owaisi
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that the SIR process gave the BJP a chance to target voters on the basis of religion, especially Muslims.
“The BJP wants to make poor Muslims and Dalits defenceless. Their only tool is the right to vote — and that is now under threat,” Owaisi posted on X, citing reports of voter deletions in Muslim-majority areas.
RJD: Names Removed Without Verification
RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav alleged that in many constituencies, at least 10,000 names were removed, mostly from poor and marginalised communities.
RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta criticised the process, saying it was even less rigorous than the usual annual voter list revision, and accused Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of skipping in-person verifications.
“This was paperwork only. No real scrutiny. It exposed the NDA government’s agenda, but they failed because the Opposition raised the issue strongly,” Mehta said.
Legal and Constitutional Questions
The ECI’s decision to conduct the SIR beginning with Bihar ahead of state assembly polls was challenged in the Supreme Court, with petitioners questioning the Commission’s authority to demand proof of citizenship from existing voters.
Although the Supreme Court did not stay the SIR, it intervened to make Aadhaar an acceptable identity document a provision initially excluded by the ECI. The Court also directed that the burden of proof be moderated, pushing back against what many viewed as arbitrary and exclusionary verification standards.
Broader Political Fallout
Opposition parties have viewed the SIR as an attempt to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) by stealth. On Monday, the Kerala Assembly passed a unanimous resolution condemning the SIR, calling it a backdoor attempt to implement the NRC and a threat to India’s democratic fabric.
The timing of the revision just ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for November — and the scale of deletions have led to widespread suspicion that the move could suppress certain voting blocs, impacting electoral outcomes.
With pressure mounting, the ECI has yet to issue a detailed response to the opposition’s allegations or explain the inconsistencies flagged in the final data. The political debate, however, continues to intensify in the lead-up to the Bihar elections.
