NEW DELHI: A significant number of applications for new voter registration—over 100,000 in total—were rejected in Bihar following the publication of the draft electoral roll, according to official data released by the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO).
The standard application used by citizens to be included in the electoral roll for the first time is called Form-6. Data shows that a substantial 106,304 Form-6 applications were rejected after the draft roll was released on August 1. This revision was part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process being carried out in the poll-bound state.
The total number of applications submitted during the claims and objections period, which ran until September 1, reached approximately 2.26 million. Of this massive influx, 2.15 million applications were ultimately accepted, but the 106,304 rejections stand out. This sharp increase in applications—from around 1.2 million during the special summary revision in January to 2.26 million after the August draft roll—suggests a major push for new registrations, many of which were filed in response to the massive number of deletions announced previously.
Scrutiny High in Border Areas
A district-by-district breakdown of the rejected applications reveals a clear pattern: the highest numbers were concentrated in districts bordering Nepal or West Bengal. Purnia led the rejections with 8,946, followed by Sitamarhi (6,451), Madhubani (5,218), and Kishanganj (5,009). These areas have historically been subjected to more rigorous inspection during voter roll revisions due to concerns over cross-border movement and sensitive demographic factors. In contrast, central Bihar districts, such as Patna (4,134) and Nalanda (2,127), recorded comparatively lower rejection figures.
The draft electoral roll published on August 1 listed 72.4 million electors, a steep drop from the 78.9 million registered voters recorded earlier in the year. This reduction was the result of the deletion of about 6.5 million names, which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had marked as deceased, absent, permanently shifted, or enrolled in multiple locations. The Election Commission (EC) then provided a one-month window after the draft publication for new voters to apply (Form-6), for existing voters to update details (Form-8), and for objections to be raised regarding entries on the list.
Minimal Foreign National Objections
Despite political rhetoric about alleged “illegal voters,” particularly in border regions, the official data on objections uploaded by the Bihar CEO shows that very few cases were raised challenging individuals as “not Indian citizens.” A preliminary analysis of the three border districts—Kishanganj, Supaul, and Purnia—confirms that such objections were negligible.
For instance, in Kishanganj, a district that shares borders with both Nepal and West Bengal and has a majority Muslim population, only two objections were filed on the basis of suspected non-citizenship. Both were rejected by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) after hearings. Purnia saw five objections regarding suspected foreign nationals, with their status listed as “hearing scheduled” or “forwarded to ERO,” while Supaul recorded 14 such objections.
Earlier in July, EC officials had stated that the SIR process was necessary for a detailed verification drive to identify and remove ineligible names, noting that BLOs had encountered individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during house-to-house verification who possessed Indian documents like Aadhaar, ration cards, and domicile certificates.
The SIR process itself was announced in June to address concerns including the inclusion of ineligible or foreign nationals in the electoral list and issues related to large-scale migration. The final electoral roll for Bihar was officially published on September 30.
The key takeaway from the data is that while the deletion and verification drive was extensive across the state, the actual number of objections raised based on foreign nationality remained extremely low, even in the most sensitive border districts.