Patna: The voter list in Bihar was updated under Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Opposition parties are also raising questions about the final voter list published after this. Previously, the Election Commission released a draft voter list, in which over 6.5 million names were removed, sparking widespread controversy. Now, there is controversy over the deletion of more women voters' names than men from the final voter list. According to the Election Commission, only those who failed to submit the required documents have been removed. Additionally, the names of those who were absent, transferred, and registered in two locations have been removed from the list.
The Left party CPI-M has raised questions about this issue. It argues that men migrate more than women in Bihar. So how can there be more women than men among those removed from the voter list?
More than 700,000 women's names removed than men's
Bihar's voter list had 78,022,933 voters after January 2025. Of these, 37,257,477 were women voters, while the number of male voters was 47,63,352. The final voter list, released on September 30 after the SIR, shows a total of 74,192,357 voters. Of these, 34,982,828 were women voters and 39,270,000 were male voters.
In Bihar, the number of male voters decreased by 1.556 million, 352 from the pre-SIR list to the post-SIR list, while the number of female voters decreased by 2.274 million, 649. The names of 718,297 more female voters were removed from the voter list than men. A total of 4.91 percent of voters were removed from the voter list. Of these, 3.82 percent were male voters and 6.11 percent were female voters.
Women Migrate Less, So How Are More Names Deleted?
CPI-M leader Dipankar Bhattacharya has raised questions about this. He said that men migrate more than women. So what is the reason for their names being deleted more? However, the BJP has clarified that the SIR process is completely transparent. The names of those who failed to submit the required documents, were found absent, moved, or had their names in two places were removed. There is no conspiracy behind this.
However, one reason for the increased deletion of female voters' names is that they typically relocate after marriage. Consequently, their names are registered in both their parental home and the city where their in-laws live. If a name appears in two locations, it is removed from one. Currently, the issue of voter lists in Bihar remains a source of controversy. Questions and answers on this issue are likely to continue throughout the elections.
