Bihar Special Intensive Revision: Higher Deletion in Districts with More Muslims

Bihar's voter deletion data shows a higher deletion rate in the Seemanchal region.

ECI's voter roll revision in Bihar sparks claims of disenfranchisement.

(Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

After the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar, the final list of voters has been released on 30 September. According to it, there are a total of 7.42 crore voters in the state. As of 24 June 2025, there were 7.89 lakh voters in Bihar. The Special Intensive Revision process began on 25 June. 47.77 lakh voters have been deleted in the process, which was conducted in two phases over a period of three months.

In percentage terms, the deleted names account for 6.05% of the total number of voters.

So far, the Election Commission hasn't released district-wise data for deletions. The Quint has sourced district-level data from the administration in different districts.

We found that the highest deletion rate was in Gopalganj district. Here, 12% of people’s names were removed from the old voter list. The lowest was in Arwal district, where 3.38% names were deleted. Now, let us analyse the number of voters in all 38 districts of Bihar before and after the SIR process, and see whether names were deleted more in any specific region.

Higher Deletion Rate in Districts With Higher Muslim Population

Looking at the numbers released after the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, it becomes clear that the deletion rates are comparatively higher in districts with a higher proportion of Muslims.

For example:

In Kishanganj, where the Muslim population is 68%, 9.69% of voters’ names were deleted

In Katihar with a Muslim population of 44%, 7.12% names were deleted.

In Purnia, the Muslim population is 38%, and 8.41% voters were removed from the voter list.

7% Names Deleted in Seemanchal, Lower Deletion Rate in Hindu-Dominated Districts

In Bihar, the four districts of Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, and Araria are considered the Seemanchal region. Compared to other districts, these have a higher Muslim population. In Seemanchal, the rate of voter deletions was higher than in other districts.

Before SIR: 78,11,890 voters

After SIR: 72,27,172 voters

Names deleted: 5,84,718

This comes to about 7 percent of all the voters in the region. Another important data point is that 12 percent of all deleted voters were in Seemanchal.

In Bihar, if we look at the top 10 districts with the highest Hindu population, in 9 districts the deletion rate during the Special Intensive Revision process was below the average of 6.05%. Only one district, Bhojpur, saw 6.36% of voters’ names deleted from the old voter list.

Special Intensive Revision Final Electoral Rolls full list: According to the 2011 Census, among Bihar’s top 10 Hindu-dominated districts, 9 had voter deletion rates below the average 6.05%.

Highest deletions in Lalu Prasad's home district, fewer in Nitish Kumar’s Nalanda

Looking at the home districts of Bihar’s two prominent leaders, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav:

Gopalganj, Lalu’s home district, recorded the highest deletion rate at 12.13%.

Nalanda, Nitish’s home district, recorded only 3.54% deletions, one of the lowest in the state.