The unexplained drop in gender ratio following Bihar’s SIR, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• Bihar's gender ratio in electoral rolls decreased from 907 to 892 females per 1,000 males after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 2025.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted the SIR between June 25 and August 1, 2025, to update voter rolls.
• Voter roll whittled down from 7.89 crore in January 2025 to 7.42 crore in September 2025, with a net exclusion of 47 lakh voters across Bihar.
• In Gopalganj, where 1,218 women voted per 1,000 men, the gender ratio dropped by 8.38% after the SIR.

Detailed Insights:

• The SIR aimed to exclude voters not ordinarily residing in Bihar, including migrants, but the gender ratio declined, suggesting a disproportionate exclusion of women.
• Data indicates a correlation between higher female voter turnout and increased exclusion of women from electoral rolls after the SIR.
• The ECI stated that women's names might have been excluded due to migration after marriage, but data suggests more men migrate for work.
• Ground reports indicate that many women removed from the rolls had moved to nearby villages within the same constituency.
• The Chief Election Commissioner has placed the responsibility on political parties to ensure inclusion of left out names until 10 days before nominations.
• The highest voter deletions occurred in constituencies located at or near Bihar's state border.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Gender Ratio: The number of females per 1,000 males in a population.
• Electoral Roll: An official list of persons qualified to vote in an election.
• Migration: The movement of people from one place to another, either within a country or across international borders.