The Election Commission has released the draft voter list following the revision in Bihar. During the SIR, over 72.4 million voters in Bihar submitted enumeration forms, and the names of all voters who filled out the forms are included in the draft. A period of one month is given for filing claims and objections. The final voter list is set to be published on September 1. With the draft voter list now public, data on the removal of voter names from various locations has begun to emerge. The highest number of names removed was in Patna, with 395,000 voters deleted.
In Supaul district, 128,000 names were removed during the voter list SIR. The number of polling stations in the district's five assembly constituencies has also increased, from 1,594 to 1,880. Speaking to the press, the district election officer and district magistrate, Sawan Kumar, revealed that 128,207 voter names were removed from the draft.
Previously, there were 1,640,664 total voters in all assembly areas, which has now decreased to 1,512,457. After the SIR, 128,207 names were removed in Supaul district across assembly constituencies: 21,925 in Nirmali, 21,821 in Pipra, 31,166 in Supaul, 22,663 in Triveniganj, and 30,632 in Chhatapur.
48,824 Names Removed in Lakhisarai
Lakhisarai district houses two assembly constituencies - Lakhisarai and Suryagarha. In both areas, 48,824 names were removed from the voter list following the SIR. Approximately 93.67% or 733,600 people in the district submitted enumeration forms.
The prior voter list for Lakhisarai included 782,424 names. The current draft lists the 733,600 voters who submitted forms. According to the district magistrate, of those removed, 18,153 had passed away, 6,157 removed their own names due to multiple entries, 19,798 relocated, and there was no record for 4,707 voters.
91,882 Names Struck from Jamui
Jamui district comprises four assembly constituencies. The draft voter list for these areas documents the removal of 91,882 names. Before the SIR, all four constituencies had a total of 1,340,090 voters. Post-SIR, the draft includes 1,248,208 names, now published per constituency.
Bhagalpur Sees Over 244,000 Names Removed
In Bhagalpur district, the draft post-SIR reflects over 244,000 names removed. Previously, there were 2,440,414 voters, now reduced to 2,155,802. A total of 244,612 names were dropped.
According to district election officer Dr. Nawal Kishore Chaudhary, it was discovered during the SIR that 62,852 voters had passed away. Furthermore, 125,388 voters relocated, and 26,566 had duplicate entries. Consequently, all these names were removed. In Bhagalpur, polling booth numbers have risen from 2,263 to 2,678. The district election officer explained that this increase aligns with the Election Commission's directive for one booth per 1,200 voters.
Gaya's List Shrinks by Over 245,000 Names
Gaya district, encompassing 10 assembly seats, contained 3,147,156 names. The SIR led to the removal of 245,663 names. According to the district election officer, the SIR found 90,742 names of deceased voters. 25,348 voters were untraceable, 96,139 relocated permanently, and 33,434 duplicate names were deleted.
One-Month Window for Claims and Objections
The draft voter list is released, initiating the process for claims and objections. Eligible voters, whose names do not appear in the draft, can still register. Applications for adding or removing names can be filed until September 1 using prescribed forms. The Election Commission assures that names won't be removed without valid reasons.
