Bihar Electoral Roll Update: With Enumeration Deadline Over, EC to Send Volunteers to Assist Voters in Getting Government Documents

Bihar Electoral Roll Revision: 6.5 Million Voters May Be Excluded After Verification Drive

In a major development ahead of Bihar’s upcoming assembly elections, nearly 6.5 million voter names—around 9% of the state's total electorate—could be excluded from the electoral rolls following the conclusion of the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The month-long verification exercise, which has sparked national protests and a Supreme Court challenge, ended on Saturday, July 27.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will publish the draft electoral roll on August 1, triggering a month-long period for claims and objections, which will end on September 1. The final electoral roll is expected on September 30, just ahead of the state elections later this year.

Reasons Behind the Potential Voter Exclusion

The 6.5 million potentially excluded names include:

• 2.2 million deceased voters
• 700,000 individuals with duplicate registrations
• 3.5 million due to permanent migration or untraceability
• 120,000 pending enumeration forms

If all these names are ultimately removed, this will mark one of the largest voter roll exclusions in any Indian state’s electoral history. The ECI defended the move in court, claiming it is essential to uphold the integrity of elections by eliminating ineligible voters.

EC's Data Gaps & Ongoing Document Uploads

As of now, the ECI has not shared updated figures, citing technical challenges. A final count is expected by July 29. Officials said the commission has digitized forms from 72.3 million voters, but it remains unclear how many have submitted the necessary documents to prove citizenship and residency.

A Booth Level Officer from Araria noted, “We are uploading whatever documents we get—Aadhaar, ration cards, property papers. It’s up to the commission to decide their validity.”

Document Requirements Under SIR

Voters are divided into three age-based categories:

1. Born before 1987: Can submit personal identity proof.
2. Born 1987–2004: Must submit personal and one parent’s document.
3. Born after 2004: Must submit documents for self and both parents.

Importantly, commonly held IDs like Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration card are not considered valid citizenship proof under the current rules.

Political and Legal Backlash

The verification drive has drawn strong opposition from MPs and civil society groups, who argue it threatens electoral democracy and could disenfranchise legitimate voters.

While the Supreme Court declined to halt the process, it instructed the ECI to consider accepting widely held documents like Aadhaar and voter IDs. In its counter-affidavit filed on July 21, the commission argued these do not prove Indian citizenship.

Suspected Foreign Nationals and Border Monitoring

The ECI also reported identification of suspected foreign nationals—primarily from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar—on voter rolls in border districts like Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia, and Champaran. These cases will be sent to authorities under the Citizenship Act.