Can names of deceased voters be struck of electoral rolls? Undoubtedly, this is a legal requirement. Are deceased voters necessarily “infiltrators”? Common sense says, no. Then what is the recently appointed chief minister (CM) of Bihar, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doing making these bombastic claims, that too in West Bengal that heads for the polls?
Samrat Choudhary has been saying, on no less than half a dozen occasions that the Bihar government has struck of 22-lakh names off Bihar’s electoral rolls (a power only with the Election Commission!). He goes further to state that Aadhar and other benefits of these ‘22-lakh persons’ will also be snatched away. Who are these 22-lakh persons anyway?
Three days after he was appointed as CM of the state on April 15, replacing the doyen of the Janata Dal United (JD-U), Nitish Kumar, Choudhary made this extraordinary claim as reported by The Indian Express. Prior to this appointment, since late February 2026, during campaign stints in West Bengal he had been boastful of this ‘achievement’ by the new Bihar government. “So far, we have struck off the names of 22-lakh people and stopped their ration as well in Bihar. We will cancel their driving licenses and other cards as well,” Choudhary has stated emphatically.”
Ironically, antithetical to these hysterical claims are the facts from the ground. Bihar was the first state, pre-assembly poll to conduct a hurried and unchecked Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls in 2025, an exercise that came under sharp criticism and much scrutiny. During this controversial process, while approximately 65-lakh deletions took place without sufficient time for independent adjudication of the action, the 22-lakh figure only corresponded to “deletions.” Now deletions are usually on account of duplicate enrolment, shifting of voters or the fact that they may be deceased. The media had widely reported between June-November 2025 that no largescale existence of “illegal immigrants” was identified or noticed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
One issue of crucial concern therefore then is ‘where has the figure of 22-lakhs being projected by the Bihar CM come from?” Second, what about the adjudication process for the entire 65-lakh exclusions in the state? Third, the moot question of whether or not an elected government in secular, democratic India is empowered to simply deny the right to an Aadhar card, or government scheme benefits to any person previously accessing these benefits without application of mind or independent judgement?
Before, during and after the SIR exercise in Bihar the Election Commission of India (ECI) under CEC Gyanesh Kumar has been squarely accused of partisan conduct, conduct unbefitting a Constitutional body since its actions aligned squarely with the ruling dispensation.
Ironically, but not coincidentally, the first week of April 2026, also saw a spate of “news reports” from Bihar around union home minister, Amit Shah’s visit to the Seemanchal areas of the state. As reported by ETV Bharat, Shah’s visit to the Seemanchal region during which he reviewed border security, the issue of illicit foreign settlers, law and order and other security-related situations in Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea, Katihar and other adjoining districts.
In line with this development, the news channel quoted a senior official of the state’s home department, additional chief secretary, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary stating that a ‘fresh letter had been written to all districts to identify suspected foreigners in their jurisdiction and if such persons are not living with valid documents, ‘their process of deportation would begin!’ Bihar government officials also ‘revealed that biometric data of those identified would be collected and uploaded to a central database maintained by the Union Home Ministry to streamline identification and prevent their re-entry.’
Where does the 22-lakh figure come from?
In early 2026, Vote for Democracy’s report on the Bihar polls, “An Audit of the Stolen Mandate” Bihar 2025 VFD Report Findings had recorded details of what the report termed “Mass disenfranchisement by design.” These stated that, according to official ECI data, the numerical impact of a hastily conducted SIR was staggering:
- On June 24, 2025, Bihar had 7.89 crore registered electors.
- By the Draft Roll of August 1, 2025, this fell to 7.24 crore, reflecting 65.69 lakh deletions.
- The Final Roll of September 30, 2025 stood at approximately 7.42 crore electors.
Yet, the report found that only 3.66 lakh voters were actually confirmed as ineligible. The scale of deletions was therefore grossly disproportionate, pointing not to routine correction but to electoral roll engineering.
Between July 21 and 25 alone, over 21.27 lakh voters were deleted in just three days—an implausible figure by any administrative standard. During this period, 5.44 lakh voters were marked ‘dead’, while 14.24 lakh were labelled ‘permanently shifted’. The number of voters marked ‘untraceable’ rose by 809% overnight, while not a single “foreigner” was identified—despite this being cited as a key justification for the revision.
Opaque ‘rectification’ and mathematical impossibilities
The report further exposed deep inconsistencies in the ECI’s claims of rectification. While the Commission stated that approximately 17 lakh objections or applications were received, the actual changes reflected in the rolls affected around 22-lakh entries. Even after accounting for corrections, the final voter count should have mathematically stood at approximately 7.38 crore, yet the ECI declared 7.42 crore electors, leaving an unexplained excess of 3.24 lakh voters.
No independent audit, reconciliation statement, or transparent explanation has been provided for this discrepancy.
Pre-poll manipulation after election notification
Electoral norms require that voter rolls be effectively frozen once elections are notified. However, the report documents that even after notification:
- On October 6, 2025, Bihar had 7.43 crore electors.
- By poll day, this had increased to 7.46 crore.
This means 3.34 lakh voters were added in just ten days, including a sudden and unexplained spike in youth voters—raising serious questions about roll sanctity during the election period.
1.3 The “Rectification” Fraud
- Discrepancy in Objections: ECI claimed only 17,00,000 (16,56,886+ 36,475 = 16,93,361)
- Applications were received by the September 1 deadline. However, actual changes were
- Performed on as many as 22-lakh entries.
The Calculation Anomaly:
- ECI reported additions of 16,56,886 (Form 6) + 36,475 (Claims) and exclusions of
2,17,0493.
- Net Addition Calculation: Should have been 14,76,312 added to the 7.24 Crore
base, totalling 7.38 Crore.
- Actual Figure (Sept 30): ECI declared 7.42 Crore (No. ECI/PN/313/2025)—a
hike of 3.24 Lakh over the calculated figure without explanation.
Multiple petitions were filed before the Supreme Court in July 2025 challenging the SIR process. These were moved by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), RJD MP Manoj Jha, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, and Social Activist Yogendra Yadav among several others. These petitions alleged that the SIR lacked statutory backing
under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors Rules,
1960, imposed onerous documentation requirements, and risked large-scale
disenfranchisement, particularly of migrants, the poor and marginalised communities.
Petitioners had also argued that the SIR effectively resembled a citizenship-style verification exercise
Unfortunately, while the irregularities in the Bengal SIR continue to be scrutinised by the Supreme Court of India due to an assertive role played by the Trinamool Congress ruling that state, Bihar’s excluded voters –whatever the actual number—remain abandoned and forgotten. By both the political Opposition and the Institutions of Democratic Governance. Even as the new CM makes boastful claims of ‘disenfranchising’ a staggering 22-lakh persons!
Related:
ECI to SC: Voter ID insufficient for Bihar roll, defends citizenship verification power
Non-Electors Within Electors: ECI reports over 61 lakh potential exclusions