How women migrant electors are disenfranchised in the Bihar SIR process , Pg11

Key Highlights:

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has excluded approximately 65 lakh electors from the draft electoral roll published on August 1, 2025.
• Over 55% of the deletions were due to permanent migration or electors being untraceable, 34% due to deaths, and only 10.8% due to multiple enrollments as of June 24, 2025.
• Analysis of the top nine Assembly Constituencies (ACs) with the most deletions revealed that 56% of the 4.73 lakh aggregate deletions were female electors.
• 66% of the 1.23 lakh female electors deleted for having permanently shifted were in the 18 to 39 years age cohort.

Detailed Insights:

• The mass deletion of female electors in the 18–39 age group points to the exclusion of married women, as marriage is the primary reason for female migration in Bihar and across India.
• The Representation of the People Act, 1950 requires electors to be "ordinarily resident" in a constituency, but the lack of a clear definition allows for arbitrary deletions.
• The Election Commission of India (EC) initiated the SIR process in Bihar without addressing legal ambiguities surrounding migrant electors, leading to their exclusion.
• The EC's focus on "foreign illegal migrants" has diverted attention from critical issues like the disenfranchisement of internal migrants, especially women migrating due to marriage.
• Immediate steps to prevent unjust exclusion include extending the deadline for claims and objections, re-verifying deleted categories, and ensuring re-enrollment in current residences.
• The decision to retain or transfer a female migrant's name in electoral rolls should rest with the elector, not imposed by the EC.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Roll: A list of persons eligible to vote in an election in a specific constituency.
• Disenfranchisement: The act of depriving someone of the right to vote.
• Migrant Elector: A registered voter who has moved from one place to another.