PATNA: Bihar will go to the polls with an electorate of 7.4 crore, as per the final electoral roll published by the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday. The total count reflects a 6% decline compared to June, when the state had 7.9 crore voters.
The figure was finalized after the special intensive revision (SIR) of rolls, which saw 47 lakh names removed since June 24. However, the final list is 17.9 lakh higher than the draft roll released on August 1, which had dropped to 7.2 crore after 65 lakh deletions. The release of the rolls effectively kicked off preparations for announcement of poll dates, with CEC Gyanesh Kumar and colleagues likely to visit Bihar around October 5–6.
According to EC, the final roll includes 21.5 lakh new voters, while 3.7 lakh were declared “ineligible” and struck off. Minor changes may follow as supplementary lists are added during the poll process.
The extent of deletions—though smaller than initially feared—remains politically sensitive. A caste- and community-wise breakup of names removed is expected to shape party reactions. While protests over the SIR dominated the pre-poll build-up, opposition response on Tuesday was noticeably muted.
That could change. EC clarified that eligible voters can still seek inclusion in the rolls until 10 days before the last date of nominations. Appeals can also be filed under the Representation of the People Act—first with the district magistrate, then before the chief electoral officer.
The SIR had earlier sparked a major controversy after 65 lakh names were dropped on various grounds. The first big pushback came on August 17, when Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, a Dalit stronghold. He was joined by RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, CPI-ML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, as opposition parties closed ranks against the EC exercise.
