Bihar Electoral Rolls Revision: Tejashwi Yadav of RJD Fears Deletion of Names Will Adversely Impact Closely Contested Seats

Patna: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list before the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 has stirred a fierce political controversy with Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan (India Alliance) accusing the Election Commission of acting at the behest of the “double engine government' – Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and the Nitish Kumar led JDU government in Bihar.

The RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav fears that this SIR may adversely affect the outcome of the upcoming assembly elections.

A Special Intensive Revision essentially involves preparation of the voters’ list afresh and the ECI has said voters who registered their names after 2003 must provide extra documents to justify their claim for inclusion.

Explaining his views, Tejashwi said that in the 2020 elections, the margin of victory and defeat in as many as 35 seats was 12 votes to 3200 votes. This time even one percent swing in the votes may be a crucial factor and alter the poll outcome drastically.

Therefore, the Opposition parties fear that backward, most backward, Dalit and minority voters are being targeted through the intensive revision of the voter’s list.

The ECI’s demand for 11 optional documents from the voters for the survey is not fair, said Opposition Mahagatbandhan leaders. The opposition demands that apart from the 11 documents, Aadhaar card, ration card and job card should be included in the verification process.

The matter is currently in the Supreme Court after the Opposition parties sought judicial intervention.

Tejashwi Yadav fears heavy impact:

Tejashwi Yadav says that if the names of one percent voters are removed from the voter list from all the booths of Bihar, then the names of about 790,000 voters’ names will be deleted from the Bihar voter list. This will especially impact those seats where there was a small margin of victory or defeat last time.

In a media interaction with the leaders of India Alliance leaders at his government residence 1 Polo Road on July 13 Tejashwi Yadav said: “Even if one percent of the names of voters are removed, then the names of about 3251 voters will be removed from every assembly constituency.”

“In the 2020 elections, RJD lost by 5000 votes in 52 seats,” Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly said. In fact, in the 2020 assembly elections, out of 243 seats in Bihar, there were a total of 35 seats in which the margin of victory and defeat was less than 3200.

Shakti Singh Yadav of RJD had to face defeat by just 12 votes from Hilsa seat of Bihar. He was defeated by Krishna Murari Sharan of JDU by just 12 votes. Similarly, JDU's Sudarshan Kumar won from Barbidha assembly constituency by defeating Congress's Gajanan Shahi by just 113 votes.

At the same time, RJD's Sudhakar Singh from Ramgarh assembly constituency defeated BSP candidate Ambika Yadav by just 189 votes. LJP's Rajkumar Singh from Matihani assembly constituency of Begusarai defeated JDU's Bogo Singh by just 333 votes and registered victory.

There were 10 seats where the victory or defeat was decided by a margin of 12 to 951 votes.

Tejashwi Yadav is therefore afraid that if the names of more than 3200 voters are removed from the list from every assembly constituency, then the result of the 2025 elections may be affected.

RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed says that Tejashwi Yadav has expressed legitimate concern about the intention and methods of the Election Commission

“As a LoP, Tejashwi Yadav has legitimately expressed concern about the deletion of only one percent of votes. But the news emerging out of the ECI is that there is a possibility of deletion of 35 lakh voters from the electoral rolls.

Earlier, the EC had shared figures showing that 1.59 per cent electors equivalent to 12.5 lakh voters were found to have died but their names were in the voters’ list. Another 2.2 percent or 17.5 lakh voters moved out of Bihar permanently and were not eligible voters and another 0.73 per cent – totally about 5.5 lakh voters were found to have double entries in the list.

According to Ezaz Ahmed, RJD spokesperson: “In such a scenario there is a possibility of 10000 to 15000 voters' names being removed from every assembly constituency. This process of the Election Commission creates confusion among the people."

BJP ridicules Tejashwi: Speaking about the apprehensions of RJD leaders, BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel says that Tejashwi Yadav is only concerned about himself. He feels that he should get the seat of power in Bihar by any means. “Is it not right that only the eligible voters should exercise their franchise ? Or, the RJD wants the false voters to remain in the list?”

"During the rule of Tejashwi Yadav's parents, booths used to be captured by the use of sticks, bullets and guns. Ever since elections started being held in the right manner, RJD has been losing elections. Tejashwi Yadav is more worried because he feels that if the names of the wrong voters are removed, he will face defeat,” said Prem Ranjan Patel, spokesperson, Bihar BJP.

JDU raises questions on Tejashwi: Meanwhile, JDU spokesperson Anjum Ara said that if Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav is afraid of a special intensive revision of the voter list, then only he can explain the reason for it. If he is afraid of the voter's name being deleted, then it is clear that he was winning on the strength of illegal voters.”

Bihar has a total of 7.90 crore electors and till recently about 6.60 crore voters have submitted their enumeration forms for inclusion in the SIR.