NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Wednesday claimed that the first phase of polling in Bihar concluded successfully. But ground reports from several districts tell a sharply contrasting story — one of missing names, frustrated voters, and allegations of targeted disenfranchisement.
Reports from Sandesh Assembly seat in Ara district indicate that hundreds of voters, particularly from minority and weaker sections, found their names missing from the electoral rolls. Many said they had voted in the same booths in past elections but were shocked to find themselves excluded this time. “Entire families have disappeared from the list,” one local resident complained after being turned away from the booth.
The issue has sparked a political storm. Opposition parties — RJD, Congress, and the Left — have accused the Election Commission and the ruling NDA of manipulating the voter rolls to gain an unfair advantage. RJD workers staged demonstrations outside polling stations in Ara, raising slogans against the Commission and alleging that “a deliberate and planned deletion” of voters was carried out to weaken Opposition support bases.
Local RJD leader Abdul Karim alleged that more than 25 percent of names were missing in booths dominated by minority and Dalit voters. “People queued up since morning only to be told they don’t exist on paper anymore. This is not an error — it’s an election strategy,” he said.
District election officials, however, defended the omissions, attributing them to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process carried out before the polls. “Names were removed only if there were duplications or verification issues,” said one official. “We followed standard procedures.”
But Opposition leaders insist that the timing and execution of the SIR process — conducted just weeks before polling — made it impossible for affected voters to rectify errors. “If the goal was voter transparency, why were people informed at the last moment?” questioned Congress spokesperson Neelam Devi, who called for a full investigation into what she described as “voter cleansing in the name of revision.”
Independent monitoring bodies have echoed these concerns. The Bihar Voter Rights Forum, which tracks polling irregularities, reported “an unusually high volume of complaints” from districts such as Bhojpur, Nalanda, and Gaya. In its preliminary report, the Forum noted that the missing names appeared “concentrated in pockets traditionally hostile to the ruling alliance,” suggesting that the deletions may not be random.
The Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi reiterated that polling was “peaceful and successful,” and said it has sought reports from returning officers in affected areas. A senior EC official assured that any genuine errors would be corrected before the second phase of polling.
Still, the Opposition is not convinced. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack on the Commission, declaring, “This is not just voter deletion, it’s democracy deletion. The Election Commission must remember it answers to the Constitution, not to the ruling party.”
As Bihar moves toward its second phase of polling, the controversy over missing voter names threatens to erode public confidence in the electoral process. Unless the Election Commission swiftly addresses these allegations and ensures full transparency, the credibility of one of India’s most closely watched elections may face serious questions.
