'Irregularities' in final Bihar electoral rolls to be flagged before ECI: Dipankar

The CPI(ML) Liberation on Friday alleged serious “irregularities” in Bihar’s final electoral rolls, published earlier this week following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and vowed to take the matter directly to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Speaking at a press conference in Patna, party general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya claimed that the revision exercise had effectively struck off nearly 69 lakh names from the voters’ list that existed before the SIR began in late June.

“In effect, 69 lakh names have been struck off,” Bhattacharya said. “More than 65 lakh names were removed in August, when draft rolls were published. Another 3.66 lakh have been removed from the final list. Altogether, 69 lakh deletions have taken place. Because of 21.53 lakh additions, the net deletions appear as 47 lakh.”

He pressed for greater transparency, questioning the ECI’s handling of the revision. “We would like to know, of the new names that were added, how many are of persons whose deletion from draft rolls was challenged? The EC must also disclose why 3.66 lakh names were dropped after the final draft rolls were published and whether the persons concerned were given an opportunity for a hearing,” he said.

The SIR is an extraordinary electoral roll revision exercise conducted in Bihar this year after multiple political parties raised concerns about bloated voter lists and possible duplication of names. Typically, voter lists are updated annually in a routine revision, but the SIR — launched in June — was billed as a more stringent clean-up drive aimed at correcting anomalies ahead of the state’s next elections.

Under the SIR, officials carried out door-to-door verification to remove duplicate, shifted, or deceased voters while also enrolling fresh voters. However, the sheer scale of deletions — almost 69 lakh, according to the CPI(ML) — has raised alarm, with Opposition parties warning that genuine voters, especially women, Dalits, and minorities, may have been unfairly purged. Several petitions challenging the legality and fairness of the SIR are already listed before the Supreme Court.

Bhattacharya also flagged discrepancies in the gender ratio of the revised rolls. “We have also learned that the sex ratio of voters in the latest electoral rolls is less than what it was in June. This needs some explanation. We cannot think that women have died and migrated in greater numbers than men,” he remarked, suggesting systemic bias in the deletions.

He further criticised the ECI’s communication strategy. “Unfortunately, the EC has been reluctant to hold press conferences on such a massive exercise. Both its start and finish were announced through press releases. We have been left with no option but to depend on source-based reports in the media,” he said.

“Nonetheless, we will flag all the irregularities before the EC when it visits Bihar tomorrow (4 October). Getting the correct facts is all the more important for us as the Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging SIR next week, and we are one of the petitioners,” he added.

The CPI(ML) leader also linked the issue to larger questions of governance in Bihar. Returning from a visit to Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district, he alleged large-scale land acquisitions had taken place for a private power project.

He said, “More than 1,000 acres have been leased out to a business house for setting up a power plant at a throwaway price. Lakhs of trees are likely to be felled to clear the land for the project, which, in addition to harming the ecology, would render jobless thousands dependent on the orchards for their livelihood.”

Bhattacharya accused the ruling NDA coalition of using strong-arm tactics to silence dissent. “Locals who raise their voices face intimidation from NDA leaders, including MLAs. In the upcoming elections, we shall expose this conspiracy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Nitish Kumar,” he added.

The controversy over Bihar’s SIR exercise is expected to intensify as Opposition parties demand clarity on the massive voter deletions, while the Supreme Court prepares to hear challenges that could determine whether the final rolls stand in their current form.

With PTI inputs