Voter deletion allegations during SIR a false alarm: Bihar CM

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday accused Opposition parties of raising a “false alarm” over voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2025 Assembly election. He said allegations that eligible voters had been removed illegally had not been proved.

His remarks come amid a wider row over the Election Commission after a report described objections within the poll panel to decisions on the nationwide SIR. Opposition parties have demanded answers from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with some calling for his resignation.

Addressing a press conference in Patna, Choudhary referred to Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Bihar last year. He said the Congress leader had alleged that names were being struck off the rolls illegally, but “no case of illegal deletion could be proved”.

Choudhary said the Bihar revision had identified 22.34 lakh voters who had died, 36.28 lakh who had moved or could not be found at their registered addresses, and about seven lakh enrolled at more than one place. He said those names were removed and claimed that no counterclaims or applications challenging the deletions were received.

ROW OVER ELECTION COMMISSION DECISIONS

The political dispute intensified after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections to poll panel decisions at least 14 times over 10 months. The reported disagreements concerned voter enrolment and deletion, appeals against voter-related orders, access to electoral-roll data and an SIR-related declaration in the online Form 6 application process.

The Election Commission has said differences of opinion are a normal part of its deliberations and that all three commissioners approved its final SIR orders unanimously. It has also said the statutory Form 6 remains unchanged and that the declaration is a separate requirement under its SIR orders.

Opposition parties have continued to question the revision process and the Commission’s handling of the reported objections. Choudhary’s response was that the allegations made during Bihar’s SIR had not been substantiated.