As Bihar gears up for its next elections, a significant number of voters, reportedly 36.86 lakh, are currently untraceable, with nearly 7,000 completely missing from records. This alarming figure has emerged during the Election Commission's (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has disclosed that 35.69 lakh electors in Bihar were found "traceless" at their registered addresses during door-to-door verification by booth level officers. These "missing" electors now face the possibility of being removed from the electoral rolls if their status is not confirmed by July 25. The EC will share the details of these unverified electors with political parties, who have until July 25 to verify their status.
Of the 35.69 lakh electors not located at their given addresses, the EC believes that 12,55,620 (1.59%) are deceased, 17,37,336 have likely permanently shifted elsewhere, and 5,76,479 could be enrolled at multiple places. According to the EC, approximately 4.5% of Bihar's total electorate of 7.9 crore were not found at their recorded addresses despite three mandatory visits by booth level officers.
The Election Commission has received enumeration forms from approximately 7 crore electors, with 6.5 crore uploaded on the ECINet app or portal. The commission stated that just over 6.8% of electors across Bihar still need to submit their enumeration forms. All forms submitted—whether or not accompanied by full documentation—will be included in the draft electoral roll for Bihar, scheduled to be published on August 1, 2025. Missing documents can be added later during the claims and objections period.
The discovery of these missing voters has triggered political reactions. Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has alleged a deliberate attempt to remove genuine voters, particularly in constituencies with narrow victory margins. He stated that the EC report revealed that 35 lakh of Bihar's 7.9 crore voters were not found at their addresses, prompting him to allege a sinister ploy to delete names of genuine voters. In response, the BJP accused the RJD and Congress of relying on 'ghost' voters.
The Election Commission is making efforts to ensure that no eligible elector is left out. Special camps are being set up in all 5,683 wards across the 261 urban local bodies in Bihar. People who have temporarily migrated outside Bihar can also fill the enumeration form online using their mobile phones through the ECINet App or by visiting voters.eci.gov.in. They may also download the pre-filled enumeration form and submit it to BLOs directly or via family members using WhatsApp or any other available medium.
The Election Commission has provided a recourse for families or individuals who are temporarily out of Bihar but wish to ensure their inclusion in the voter list. Such individuals can visit the Election Commission website to fill out the online counting form, or contact their respective BLOs and send the filled form via phone or WhatsApp.
