After the completion of the first phase of a controversial voter verification campaign in Bihar, about 65 lakh names can be removed from the state’s voter list. This number is about 9% of the existing total voters of the state. This campaign has given rise to protests across the country and has also been challenged in the Supreme Court.
First phase of the campaign and further process
The first phase of special intensive revision ended on Saturday. Now, on August 1, a new draft voter list will be published. From this day onwards, the claim and verification process will also begin, where people will be able to apply to join the list or to rectify mistakes. The final voter list for the assembly elections to be held later this year will be released on 30 September.
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Details of removed names
The Election Commission of India has not released the final figures on Saturday, but in its bulletin released on Friday, it was reported that 65 lakh names can be removed from the draft voter list. The main reasons behind removing these names are:
Death: The names of about 22 lakh dead voters will be removed.
revision: The names of about 7 lakh voters have been found registered in many places.
Permanent stay or address: There are 35 lakh voters who have either gone anywhere permanently or they could not be detected during household verification.
Additionally, 1.20 lakh additional calculation forms are still pending, whose time limit has passed.According to the ECI voter list published in January, the total number of voters in Bihar was 7.89 crores (78.9 million).
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Why is this so important?
If all these 65 million names are removed from the final list, it will be the biggest case of excluding voters from the voter list of any state in recent times. The Election Commission, while defending its move in the Supreme Court, has said that it is necessary to maintain the fairness and purity of the elections.
However, the authorities have not yet released the updated data, as they are facing some technical problems in the data compilation. According to a senior official, ‘the whole and final updated information’ is expected to come by Sunday or Monday, as the ‘process is still being compiled.’