UP names in Bihar draft rolls: INDIA Bloc raises alarm, EC denies claim

The INDIA bloc has accused the Election Commission of enrolling “more than 5,000” residents of Uttar Pradesh in Bihar’s electoral rolls to allegedly benefit the ruling NDA in the upcoming assembly elections.

The poll panel and local administration have firmly denied the charge, calling the figure “imaginary” and stressing that the list published on 1 August was only a draft, open to objections and corrections.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, addressing a press conference in Madhubani’s Phulparas, claimed that thousands of “doubtful” voters had been registered in the Valmiki Nagar constituency of West Champaran. They cited the case of a 45-year-old man, listed both in Bihar’s Valmiki Nagar and Uttar Pradesh’s Khadda constituency.

The West Champaran administration countered this, clarifying that the individual had already applied for deletion of his Uttar Pradesh entry, and dismissed the opposition’s broader claim as lacking evidence.

Last week, an investigation by The Reporters’ Collective had suggested that duplication in the Valmiki Nagar draft rolls may be more extensive than officially acknowledged.

Working with data analysts, the team found more than 1,000 voters whose details including names, ages, and relatives’ names had matched perfectly in both Bihar and Uttar Pradesh rolls, with only addresses differing.

Thousands of others were listed with minor spelling or age variations, effectively holding two different Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, which is a violation of electoral rules.

The report raised concerns over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a 90-day exercise ordered in June to overhaul Bihar’s rolls ahead of the October–November polls.

While the Commission has argued that the claims and objections period is designed to address such issues, the investigation suggests that weeding out thousands of potentially bogus or duplicate entries within the timeframe could prove difficult.

Together, the INDIA bloc’s allegations and the independent findings are likely to heighten scrutiny of the Commission’s ability to deliver a clean and credible electoral roll in Bihar before the state heads to the polls.