Bihar SIR: Deleted Voters Exceed 2024 Election Victory Margins in 24 Seats
Scoop: Bihar's deleted voters outnumber 2024 election margins in 24 seats. Of these, BJP-JD(U) led NDA won 16.
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Exclusive: After Election Commission of India (ECI) released the first draft of fresh voter rolls for Bihar, following its controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, The Quint has found that in 24 out of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the number of deleted voters is more than the victory margin during the Lok Sabha elections held in 2024.
What does this mean? It means that these deleted electors could've been crucial in deciding the result in more than half of the total Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
This detailed investigation is based on data released by the poll body on several occasions.
Consider this: In Begusarai, a seat held by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh, there were 22,00,435 registered electors during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After the SIR exercise, this number went down to 20,77,257 electors. A reduction of 1,23,178 electors.
Singh won this seat by a margin of 81,480 votes.
This leads us to four possible explanations:
1. These were dormant voters on the roll, who had died, shifted, or were registered in two or more places, and did not cast their vote.
But the following scenarios is where it gets worrisome:
2. These were fake voters who cast their vote and possibly influenced the result of the election.
3. These are genuine voters who have been excluded from the list.
4. The fourth scenario is a mix of all the three possibilities mentioned above.
Is it possible for EC to find out which of the above is true? Yes. The Election Commission can tally voter rolls of a particular booth with form 17a, also called the register of voters, to see which voters turned up to the booth to vote on the day of the election.
(Before you proceed, a small appeal: At The Quint, we've been dedicated in our coverage of the Election Commission of India and discrepancies in voter rolls. Some of our stories came even before political parties took note of this issue. If you believe in our work, support us by becoming a member.)
Now, Let's Take a Closer Look at These Seats
The 24 Parliamentary constituencies in question include: Valmiki Nagar, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Araria, Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Siwan, Maharajganj, Saran, Ujiarpur, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Karakat, Aurangabad, and Nawada.
Of these, 16 were won by the JD(U)-BJP-HAM-LJP combine, five were won by the Congress and RJD, two by CPI(ML)L, and one by an independent candidate.
Let's look at the case of Sheohar. Here 1,09,723 voters have been removed between 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 1 August, when the SIR role was published. The victory margin for JD(U) in this seat was only 29,143 votes.
In the same time period between the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2020 State Assembly elections in Bihar, 69,867 new electors were added to the rolls in this constituency. Seats such as Purvi Champaran, Araria, and Sitamarhi also saw an increase in voters during that period.
Details of electors in parliamentary constituencies where deletions exceed 2024 Lok Sabha victory margin.
Details of electors in parliamentary constituencies where deletions exceed 2024 Lok Sabha victory margin.
What Are Experts Saying?
The Quint spoke to Jagdeep Chhokar, transparency activist and founder of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), and former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat about the trend.
While Chhokar said that the EC must clarify regarding the voting pattern and nature of the voters who have been removed from the rolls, Rawat said that there is no need to doubt the result of the elections, yet.
“As a body that is already facing credibility crisis, it is necessary for the Election Commission to clarify who these deleted voters were, and if and how many of them voted in the previous election. Only then will be we know if the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were held in a free and fair manner,” said Chhokar.
Rawat, however, claimed, "Electoral roll deletions alone do not prove any wrongdoing because there are several other checks in place. Even if the numbers of deletions are higher, it does not call for questioning the poll results. We must remember this is just the draft roll and there is a possibility that eventually no one person is left out."
What Has the EC Said So Far
In response to an application filed by Chhokar's ADR, seeking the publication of a list of persons not included in the draft roll, and the furnishing of reasons for their non-inclusion, EC said it is "not bound by rules to publish such a list." It also added that also not required under the Rules to furnish the reasons for the non-inclusion of persons in the draft Roll.
The EC, in its press releases, has repeatedly mentioned that those removed from the rolls only include deceased voters, those who've permanently shifted or weren't found at their addresses, and people who were registered as voters in multiple places.
The Commission, however, has not given a seat-wise breakup of these voters. It has also not specified the number of people who were present at their addresses but weren't able to furnish required documents to register as voters.