Bihar SIR Sparks National Storm Over Voter Deletion Allegations
India's new Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (Image credit X.com)
Stalin Calls It a “Silent Disenfranchisement”; EC Says 7.23 Crore Forms Digitised Amid Data Discrepancies
By AMIT KUMAR
PATNA, July 25, 2025 — The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise underway in Bihar has sparked a nationwide political storm, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin slamming the process as a tool to disenfranchise disadvantaged and dissenting communities.
Calling the SIR drive “electoral engineering in disguise”, Stalin warned the BJP and the Election Commission against playing with fire. “If you cannot defeat us, you seek to delete us,” Stalin said in a long post on X.
The Tamil Nadu C hief Minister also stated that “this is not about one state. This is about the very foundation of our Republic.”
Stalin’s scathing criticism comes amid growing opposition concerns that the SIR process — ostensibly meant to clean up Bihar’s electoral rolls — is being “weaponised to tilt the electoral balance ahead of the 2025 Assembly and 2029 Lok Sabha elections.”
The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a detailed statement, asserting that 7.23 crore forms from Bihar’s electors have been received and digitised, covering 99.8% of the electorate. The EC said names from these forms would be included in the Draft Electoral Roll, due for publication on August 1.
According to the EC:
- Names of 22 lakh deceased electors have been identified.
- 7 lakh voters were found registered in more than one location.
- 35 lakh electors were either untraceable or have migrated permanently.
- Only 1.2 lakh enumeration forms are pending.
These figures, the EC claimed, were shared with all 12 recognised political parties, including BJP, RJD, INC, CPI(ML), and AAP, for feedback or corrections before the draft roll is finalized.
Leaked Circulars Reveal Extensive Data Collection
Internal Bihar government memos accessed by this publication confirm the state’s active role in the SIR process. Departments have been asked to share:
- Birth and death registrations since 2001
- Secondary exam pass records from school boards
- Inheritance certificates issued by gram panchayats
- Migration data across districts
A circular dated July 16, issued by the Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths, directed officials to hand over year-wise records of all registered deaths and births from 2001–2024. Another directive asked the Education Department to supply 10th-grade pass data to help verify elector eligibility.
The Panchayati Raj Department reported that over 3.15 lakh inheritance certificates were issued in 2024–25 and 2025–26 — records that may feed into the SIR’s elector verification process.
Psephologist: “5 Million Ghost Voters, Possibly 10% Flab”
Psephologist Yashwant Deshmukh estimated that Bihar’s voter list may contain over 5 million problematic entries, including deceased and migrated voters, adding that names duplicated across multiple locations may push the figure closer to 10% of the total electoral roll.
“That’s 1 in every 10 voters whose presence on the rolls may be invalid,” Deshmukh said, urging transparency and robust oversight.
Democratic Integrity or Silent Cleansing?
Critics argue that despite the EC’s claim of inclusivity, the sheer scale of deletions — over 60 lakh entries flagged — could open doors to targeted disenfranchisement.
“The Delhi regime knows the same electorate that once voted for it will now vote it out. That is why it is trying to stop them from voting altogether,” Stalin charged, invoking concerns that SIR may disproportionately impact minorities, the poor, and migrant voters.
From August 1 to September 1, voters and parties can file claims and objections regarding deletions or missed entries. But opposition parties insist that the damage may already be done.
A National Battle Over Voter Rights
Stalin vowed to lead a nationwide resistance, declaring that Tamil Nadu would raise its voice with “full force” and use “every democratic weapon” to fight what he called a threat to constitutional democracy. “Democracy belongs to the people. It will not be stolen,” he said.
The SIR controversy in Bihar, once seen as an administrative exercise, is rapidly becoming a national flashpoint in the battle over who gets to vote — and who decides.
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