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Of the nearly 66 lakh names dropped, more than 22.34 lakh were of deceased voters while another seven lakh were removed due to duplicate registrations
Only four districts in the state have lost more than three lakh voters. (EC)
Of the nearly 66 lakh voters removed in the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, nearly four lakh were from Patna—the highest among all districts—followed by 3.52 lakh in Madhubani.
The News18 analysis of Election Commission (EC) data also shows that across the state, one in every 12 voters was removed in the draft roll, but Gopalganj stands out as the only district in the state where nearly one in six voters was dropped from the electoral rolls, as shown in the graphics.
The EC is offering a month’s period up to September 1 for eligible electors to add their names or delete the names of any ineligible electors from the list. Any elector or political party can file claims and objections for the same.
De-listings Across Bihar
Under the SIR drive, more than 7.24 crore electors of Bihar filled up the enumeration forms, and all were included in the draft electoral roll. Till June 24, the state had 7.89 crore registered voters.
Of the nearly 66 lakh names dropped, more than 22.34 lakh were of deceased voters. Another seven lakh were removed due to duplicate registrations. More than 36.28 lakh voters had either shifted permanently or were missing during the drive—that’s one in every 22 voters.
News18 analysed the district-wise situation in terms of the nearly 66 lakh names dropped in the draft, also displayed in the attached graphics. A category-wise breakup to cover deceased and duplicate voters was not available for the districts.
Urban Apathy in Patna?
Termed as the “fifth fastest-growing city in India” by the district administration, Patna recorded the highest number of delisted voters at 3.95 lakh.
Of the 50.47 lakh voters registered as of June 24, the draft has listed only 46.51 lakh names— around one in every 13 voters missed the chance to appear in the draft electoral roll.
It is also worth noting that Patna has the highest number of registered voters in the state — both before and after the SIR drive. Despite the highest number of voter names dropped, the large voter base makes the drop relatively moderate at about eight per cent.
Madhubani, with 3.52 lakh names dropped, is the second-highest contributor. As against a total of 33.76 lakh voters in the district, 30.24 lakh are listed in the draft. Madhubani has lost roughly one voter out of every 10 in the update.
Sheohar, the smallest district in terms of voter base, lost 28,166 voters in the draft—from 3.24 lakh to now 2.95 lakh.
Only four districts in the state have lost more than three lakh voters. Apart from Patna and Madhubani, Purvi Champaran was next in line with 3.16 lakh names dropped, as shown in the graph. The district has the second-largest voter base, both before (36.89 lakh) and after the drive (33.73 lakh). Gopalganj is another district from the list.
Gopalganj Lost 15% of Electors in Draft
Gopalganj, with close to 94% of its population living in rural areas, as per the district administration, had 20.55 lakh registered voters on June 24. The draft has named only 17.45 lakh voters, dropping 3.10 lakh names—15 per cent of the total registered voters.
In terms of the highest deletion rate by proportion, Purnia is next in line with over 12 per cent (2.73 lakh) names dropped—from 22.68 lakh to 19.94 lakh. Purnia has lost about one in every eight voters in this revision.
With almost 12 per cent (1.45 lakh) names dropped, Kishanganj is at the third spot. Madhubani is next in line with a 10.44 per cent loss. In total, five districts across the state have reported more than 10 per cent name drops, with Bhagalpur also in the list.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 30, and before that, there can still be additions and deletions in the draft roll, with the claims and objections window remaining open till September 1.
The state is likely to go for polls around October with the term of the Bihar assembly ending in November.
Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived…Read More
Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived… Read More
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