Final Bihar voter rolls out: 6 per cent dip since June; in most deletions, citizenship no factor, Pg1.

Key Highlights:

• The final Bihar voter list has been published with 7.42 crore voters, a 6% decrease from 7.89 crore in June.
• 68.6 lakh names were removed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), primarily due to death, migration, and duplication.
• 21.53 lakh new electors were added to the voter list during the revision process.
• The percentage of women electors decreased from 47.75% in January to 47.15% after the SIR.

Detailed Insights:

• The Election Commission (EC) initiated the SIR in Bihar to update the voter list, citing reasons like urbanization, migration, and inclusion of ineligible voters.
• The SIR required existing electors enrolled after 2003 to submit documents proving their eligibility, leading to confusion and opposition.
• The Supreme Court intervened by directing that Aadhaar be accepted as a document for proof of identity during the revision.
• The EC later instructed officials to link voters to the 2003 rolls to reduce the need for additional paperwork, with about 77% of electors eventually linked.
• The SIR exercise involved house-to-house enumeration and increased the number of polling booths from 77,895 to 90,712 in Bihar.
• The EC is expected to review the Bihar experience to decide on the method and timing of rolling out the SIR in the rest of the country.
• Opposition parties criticized the Election Commission, alleging it was attempting a citizenship check, breaking precedent.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): An elaborate exercise by the Election Commission involving house-to-house enumeration to prepare fresh electoral rolls.
• Elector: A person who is qualified to vote in an election.
• Representation of the People Act, 1950: An act of Parliament of India that provides for the allocation of seats and delimitation of constituencies for elections.