CPI(ML) Flags ‘Alarming’ Voter Deletions in Bihar’s Darbhanga
CPI (ML) workers meeting. Image credit X.com @cpimlliberation
Dipankar Bhattacharya warns of ‘electoral cleansing’ as SIR status report shows over 2 lakh deletions, questions fate of 3 lakh non-recommended voters
By KUMAR VIKRAM
PATNA, July 30, 2025 — CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has raised serious concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process underway in Darbhanga district of Bihar, following the release of a status report that shows “widespread voter deletions and a massive documentation burden on the electorate.”
Sharing a chart from the Darbhanga SIR Status Report (as of July 27, 2025), Bhattacharya described the ongoing exercise as a “so-called house-to-house enumeration phase” that risks disenfranchising lakhs of voters, particularly the poor and marginalized.
His key allegations included that “out of approximately three million electors in Darbhanga, less than one million were on the voter list in 2003 — the reference base for the current revision. This means over two million voters may now be required to submit documents to prove their citizenship.”
According to the status report, nearly two lakh voters have already been flagged for deletion under four categories: Deceased; Permanently Migrated; Untraceable; and Duplicate entries (already enrolled elsewhere). Bhattacharya dubbed this list an “electoral chopping board.”
Fate of 3 Lakh Non-Recommended Voters Unclear: Of the 2.8 million remaining voters, about 2.5 million have been recommended by BLOs (Booth Level Officers). However, around three lakh voters were not recommended, and Bhattacharya raised questions: “Are these voters on the waiting list for eventual deletion? Will they be treated as D-voters with suspended voting rights? Will some even face detention like in Assam?”
Demand for Boothwise Data Transparency: CPI(ML) has formally asked the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar to provide boothwise lists of deleted and non-recommended names, stating that aggregated data hides local-level irregularities.
Bhattacharya announced that CPI(ML) workers will conduct ground verification from August 2–8 in sample booths across constituencies in Darbhanga and other districts. “We will not allow a mass disenfranchisement campaign under the garb of revision. This resembles the tactics used in Assam that resulted in fear and uncertainty among genuine citizens,” Bhattacharya warned.
Political Tensions Over Voter List Revisions Rise in Bihar
The concerns from CPI(ML) come amid growing criticism of the Election Commission’s SIR process in Bihar, with several civil society groups and opposition parties accusing the administration of carrying out targeted deletions under bureaucratic opacity.
Earlier, Congress leaders had also slammed the EC’s methodology, describing it as “unconstitutional and exclusionary.”
The Election Commission has so far defended the process, stating that it is in line with its mandate to maintain a clean and updated electoral roll. However, demands for greater transparency and public scrutiny are rising.
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