A CPI(ML) survey has exposed large-scale wrongful deletion of voters from the electoral rolls in Bihar during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The findings were presented by CPI(ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya at a press conference in Delhi on September 26. The party demanded immediate stoppage of SIR and restoration of voting rights to voters wrongly excluded from the rolls.
The survey involved house-to-house verification of deleted voters in the Agiaon and Ziradei Assembly constituencies. In Agiaon, 204 voters deleted before the SIR were checked, of whom 46, or 22.5 per cent, were found still living in their villages. Across four booths, 665 voters deleted during the SIR were surveyed, and 77, around 11 per cent, were found to be still residing in the area.
In Ziradei, house-to-house verification found that 122 of the 665 voters deleted during the SIR were still living in their villages. Among 189 voters deleted before the SIR, 15 were also found to be residing at their existing addresses.
Based on these samples, the CPI(ML) estimated that 2,137 voters had been wrongly excluded in Agiaon and 3,489 in Ziradei. The survey used stratified sampling, with areas recording high levels of additions and deletions selected for detailed verification. The party also found questionable additions to the electoral rolls before the SIR, though these were not included in its estimates of wrongful deletions.
Dipankar said the findings exposed the serious consequences of the Election Commission's exercise in Bihar. Voters who continue to live at their addresses and remain eligible to vote cannot be made to bear the burden of correcting irregularities arising from the revision process.
The CPI(ML) has also undertaken a wider survey covering 10 Bihar Assembly constituencies. Its findings are to be presented at a public hearing in Patna on October 1, where people whose names have been deleted despite continuing to live in Bihar will present their experiences.
The party reiterated its demand that the SIR be halted immediately and that the voting rights of all wrongly excluded voters be restored. The survey has highlighted the need for independent verification of the electoral rolls and immediate correction of wrongful exclusions so that voters are not deprived of their democratic rights.
