At Ground Zero in Bihar, a common refrain: Voted in 2024, vanished in 2025

India Today

15-07-2025

It started with a push from my senior that an unbiased outlook investigating the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar is important with the replugging of the illegal immigration political conversation. That was enough to push me to board a flight from Delhi to Patna despite travel anxiety peaking through the recent crash and tracing the arc of deletion stories making their way from urban corners to far-flung Seemanchal.advertisementBy the time we drove through Muzaffarpur and reached Hajipur, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the field were already speaking in half-truths and contradictions. What was going on with the SIR process? Why were citizens, largely Muslim, Bengali-origin, or from the Shershabadi community, finding their names missing from electoral rolls after having voted just a year ago? In Bihar, the Special Intensive Revision was initiated to update electoral rolls by identifying dead, duplicate, or voters who have migrated.
Before the SIR began, the Election Commission had conducted a summary revision of the electoral rolls. This concluded in June 2025. The summary revision is a scheduled, annual process through which voters can add, correct, or delete entries.In theory, this means that between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the SIR, there was one formal opportunity for changes to be made to the rolls. Yet, many voters are finding out now - during the SIR - that their names have been quietly deleted.This raises a crucial question: At what point did these deletions actually take place? Were they removed during the summary revision without informing voters, or is the SIR now being used to retroactively validate such deletions?What is clear on the ground is confusion and panic. Individuals named in the 2024 rolls are being told they do not exist in the system. And the process, I discovered, varies sharply - sometimes from booth to booth.
In Purnea's Chimni Bazar, 400 voters, all Muslim, had their names missing from the voter list
IN PURNEA, DELETIONS RAISE QUESTIONS ON TIMINGWe entered Chimni Bazaar in Purnea, a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood. We met Sitab, the ward parshad, who claimed that 400 voters, all Muslim, had their names missing from the voter list.The BLO told them their enumeration records could not be found. One of those whose name vanished showed us his 2024 voter slip. He had cast his vote. But now, when he went to verify his name for 2025, he was told, "Naam list mein hi nahi hai" (Your name is not on the list).Across the mohalla, I heard the same refrain. Voters were missing from the current enumeration list. They had voter ID cards, yet their names were marked as deleted. This raised a sharp question - at what point between the 2024 election and the 2025 SIR process did their names go missing?advertisementWhat makes this more complicated is that the summary revision, which concluded just weeks before the SIR, should have caught and corrected these deletions if they were in error.Instead, several residents told us they were neither informed of objections nor asked for fresh documentation during that time. Now under SIR, they are expected to fill Form 6 or, as they say, are yet to be told about this process.
A BLO claimed the deletions were done at the district level, not by BLOs
'DELETIONS DONE AT DISTRICT LEVEL'The ward is manned by four BLOs. In the local government school, we began a candid conversation with one of them. The officer, who had been in the system for close to 18 years, opened up about the confusion.He claimed the deletions were done at the district level, not by BLOs."2024 mein vote diya, 2025 mein naam kat gaya. Deletions toh zila se ho raha hai. Hamara system ek saal hi hua hai ki allow karta hai add ya delete. Abhi toh add bhi nahi ho raha (Voted in 2024, but name got deleted in 2025. The deletions are happening at the district level. Our system only allows additions or deletions once a year. Right now, even additions aren't happening)," he said in one breath.advertisementI asked him how voters who had valid documents could be struck off the rolls.He responded, "There must have found something wrong. Only then would the name be removed. Names don't just get deleted like that at the district level. I feel like 60% of the people are outsiders. They are all scared that their names might get cut too."When I asked if he could identify illegal migrants, he hesitated. "Sab bolta hai Bangladeshi nahi hai, Bangal se hai. Lekin humein doubt hai. Ek aata hai, pachaas peechhe aate hain (Everybody says he is not Bangladeshi, he is from Bengal. But we have doubts. If one comes, he brings 50 more)," he said.The officer went on to say that lakhs of names were removed earlier, but he does not know how. He had even been threatened by a resident whose name was deleted. "Two-three people even threatened us. We have complained to the SDM," he said.advertisementSCENARIO IN MUZAFFARPUR AND HAJIPURBefore Purnea, we stopped at Muzaffarpur and Hajipur, towns with mixed populations and relatively less panic than Seemanchal. Here, we found something equally troubling - the form submission process itself is being altered.In Muzaffarpur, a BLO gave us a live demo of the mobile app interface. Under the SIR tab, they showed how a name, date of birth, and photograph could be uploaded without any supporting documents.
SIR mobile app interface
"Since we are locals and know most residents, we have the authority to verify whether someone is born here. Later, if there's an objection or the ERO seeks documents, we will collect them," he said.The system is OTP-verified using the BLO's mobile credentials. Once a form is uploaded with name and date of birth, the applicant is added to the digital queue even if no document is scanned.
The system is OTP-verified using the BLO's mobile credentials
'TAKE FORM FIRST, COLLECT DOCUMENT LATER'In Hajipur, the inconsistency was even starker. One BLO told us, "We were initially told not to take the form without documents. But now the directive is, take the form first, collect the document later if needed."advertisementA BLO sahayak added, "Till a few days ago, Aadhaar numbers weren't accepted. But now, if someone isn't on the 2003 roll and doesn't give documents, we still submit the form with just Aadhaar number, name, date of birth, and signature."This is a significant shift. On paper, the SIR process requires proof of citizenship, age, and residence. But BLOs in Hajipur admit they have been told to use discretion.A BLO supervisor explained, "This exercise is primarily to remove dead or duplicate voters. Document checking will happen after August 25 depending on new instructions."SOME BLOs ACCEPT AADHAAR, OTHERS SAY OPTIONALIndia Today recorded footage of BLOs submitting enumeration without uploading any documents. In some locations, Aadhaar numbers are being used even though the form lists Aadhaar as optional."In some places Aadhaar is used, in some places it is optional," said a BLO in Muzaffarpur. This has led to major confusion among applicants. While one BLO submits a form with just an Aadhaar number, another refuses the same.Last week, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to consider Aadhaar, voter ID card, and ration card in its verification drive.In the next part of this series, we will bring you more revelations - from how foreign nationals are being combed out across Seemanchal to how documents have gone missing to how door-to-door surveys are being skipped while BLOs face mounting pressure and unrealistic targets on the ground.- EndsMust Watch