47 Lakh Names Cut in Bihar SIR, But Illegal Voter Count Remains Unknown

21.53 lakh new voters added after SIR in Bihar. But what happened to those wrongly removed?

Bihar just finished its massive Special Intensive Revision to clean up voter rolls, but the results raise more questions than answers. Nearly 47 lakh names were removed, yet the Election Commission hasn’t clarified how many were actually illegal foreign voters, despite political claims that the drive was meant to find them. In this episode of Janab Aise Kaise, we unpack Bihar’s opaque voter cleanup, the confusion over documents, and why transparency is missing from India’s largest voter verification drive.

Photo: The Quint/Vibhushita Singh

Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ended on 30 September 2025. But the big question remains: how many illegal foreign voters did the Election Commission actually find?

Political leaders, including Amit Shah, suggested SIR aimed to catch illegal foreign voters. Shah said, “Rahul Baba had just held a rally. Do you know why? Because the Election Commission was removing illegal voters from Bihar’s rolls.”

After three months of SIR, the final voter list is out—but there’s no clarity on how many foreigners were caught. Around 6% of names—roughly 47 lakh—were removed from the old list. But the Election Commission has not provided a breakdown of why these names were cut.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that of the names removed, the main reasons were: deaths, citizens unable to prove Indian nationality, duplicates, and permanent migration. He added that detailed analysis is available at the district, assembly, and state levels but not directly from the Commission.

Interviews with district officials reveal the opacity: Darbhanga DM said the number of illegal foreigners is confidential. Munger DM said no illegal foreigners were found; removed names were mostly due to migration or death.

After SIR, the EC added 21.53 lakh voters through Form-6 (new voter registration). Bihar has 14.1 lakh first-time voters, which suggests around 7 lakh people may have been re-added after being wrongly removed or failing to submit documents initially.

Questions remain about documentation. Initially, Aadhaar, ration card, and voter ID were not accepted as proof of citizenship. After the Supreme Court’s order, Aadhaar was accepted. But the Commission has not clarified how many voters were added via Aadhaar during SIR.

Bihar’s SIR was a massive exercise. Yet, transparency seems missing. Citizens have the right to vote—and the right to know how the system works. The Election Commission needs to clarify: how many illegal foreigners were found, why 47 lakh names were removed, and who they are. Otherwise, the question remains: “Janab, aise kaise?”