Urban movers, migrants & the Nepalese knot: Bihar's big deletions from draft electoral roll
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New Delhi: Over 65 lakh voters have been deleted from Bihar's 7.2 crore-strong draft electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). While 22 lakh of them have been marked as deceased, the rest fall into complex categories - from shifting urban voters to interstate migrants and voters with trans-border familial ties. ET looks at what's driving these deletions.When Booth Level Officers (BLOs) fanned out across Patna after June 24 to distribute pre-filled Enumeration Forms, many found themselves stranded - either the voter wasn't there or the address itself no longer existed.Many electors had moved within the city or shifted to other areas altogether - a routine feature of city life. With deadlines looming and pressure from the Election Commission for daily updates, the BLO teams resorted to working with the municipal corporation. Near-blank forms were distributed by sanitation workers door-to-door to locate missing voters.Despite these interventions, 3.95 lakh names have been deleted across the 14 assembly constituencies in Patna district alone."The urban voter today lives in a nuclear setup, with no generational family support that would alert them if their name goes off the list," a person involved in the exercise told ET.The EC has now opened the claims and objections window.The Patna experience may foreshadow similar issues when SIR is expanded nationwide.Migration-driven deletions have surfaced strongly in Bihar's northern districts. In Madhubani, 3.5 lakh voters have been removed. Darbhanga has lost over 2 lakh, and Gopalganj nearly 3.1 lakh.Officials say voters who migrated temporarily and lacked family support at home may have missed the enumeration process altogether.The Seemanchal belt - along the India-Nepal border - has raised unique challenges due to long-standing familial and community ties across the border. BLOs reportedly came across a "large number" of voters from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, EC officials said on July 13. However, it is the Nepalese connection - especially in East and West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Araria, and Purnia - that poses a complex situation.Decisions on inclusion or deletion now rest with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), who will weigh documents, ground reports, and the claims and objections filed.
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