Urban movers, migrants & the Nepalese knot: Bihar's big deletions from draft electoral roll

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.

Urban Exodus: The Patna Puzzle

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.

The Migrant Factor: Madhubani to Darbhanga

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 Nepalese Connection

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.