In the vast plains of Bihar, where the pulse of democracy beats through the lives of millions, Voter List errors have surfaced in the latest draft electoral rolls, stirring heartache among families who discover wrong photographs, deceased relatives still listed, and baffling mismatches that threaten their right to vote. This revelation, emerging just months before crucial assembly polls, has left many residents feeling vulnerable and disillusioned, as they confront a system meant to empower them now riddled with flaws.
Residents like Tarkeshwar Singh from Kharika village have voiced their distress after spotting multiple inaccuracies in their family entries. His own photograph was replaced with an unknown image, while his wife’s and son’s details bore incorrect pictures, and an unrelated woman’s photo appeared beside another son’s name. Even more jarring, a deceased cousin remained on the list, and duplicate entries for others compounded the confusion, with one instance wrongly listing Singh as his daughter-in-law’s husband. Such personal stories highlight the human cost, where simple errors evoke fears of exclusion from the democratic process that families hold dear.
The Special Intensive Revision exercise, conducted between late June and July, aimed to update the rolls but resulted in the removal of over six million names, shrinking the voter count from nearly 79 million to about 72 million. Among the deletions were around 2.2 million deceased individuals, 700,000 duplicates, and 3.6 million who had migrated permanently. Verification drives uncovered over 52 million electors untraceable at registered addresses, including 18.6 lakh declared dead, 26 lakh who had shifted constituencies, and 7.5 lakh enrolled in multiple places, underscoring a scale of discrepancies that has shocked communities reliant on accurate representation.
Opposition parties have raised alarms, claiming the process was hasty and potentially biased, particularly in border districts with significant minority populations, where deletions appeared higher. They argue it disproportionately affects the poor and marginalised, shifting the burden onto voters to prove their eligibility with limited time. Ruling coalition members, however, defend the initiative as a necessary cleanse to eliminate bogus entries, including those of non-citizens, insisting it ensures a fairer poll without targeting any group.
Election Commission Response Upon Voter List Errors
The Election Commission has refuted bias allegations, affirming that efforts were made to include all eligible citizens, and corrections remain open until early September, with thousands of applications already processed. Yet, for villagers like those in Danara, many of whom were unaware of the revision or claim no officials visited, the uncertainty lingers, fostering a sense of isolation in a land where voting unites generations.
As Bihar gears up for November elections, these glitches resonate deeply, reminding citizens of the fragile trust in institutions. Migrant workers, returning home to cast ballots, now worry about erased names, while elders lament the persistence of the departed in lists that should reflect the living. The emotional toll is evident in quiet villages, where the promise of a voice feels overshadowed by administrative oversights.
This ongoing saga of Bihar Voters List Errors serves as a poignant reminder of the need for vigilance, as the state strives to mend the rifts before polls commence.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, August 11th, 2025
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