Booth-level officials failed to verify duplicates or remove deceased voters, undermining the integrity of the upcoming November elections. The findings challenge the CEC’s claim of a “purified” voter list and raise serious questions about electoral transparency.
By PC Bureau
An in-depth investigation by the Reporters’ Collective has revealed widespread errors, duplications, and fictitious addresses in Bihar’s finalised voter list, despite Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar declaring the list “purified” following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Duplicate Voter IDs and Dubious Addresses
Across Bihar’s 243 assembly constituencies, over 14.35 lakh suspect duplicate voter IDs were found. These include instances where voters hold two or more IDs with identical names, relative names, and demographic details, including 3.42 lakh cases where all details, including age, match perfectly. Some voters were found holding three or more EPIC IDs.
Additionally, around 1.32 crore voters are registered at dubious or non-existent addresses, often bundling individuals from different families, castes, and communities under a single fictitious location. For example, in Pipra constituency, 505 people from different families and communities were registered at one fake address, while another 442 were similarly misregistered.
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On this, a local voter Shivnath Das told the reporters, “No one asked us anything during this time. We ourselves questioned the BLOs and offered every possible cooperation, but nothing happened. Now, we can’t do anything. The Election Commission should be doing its job.” His neighbor, Dashrath Das, added, “This is sheer negligence on the part of the Election Commission and BLOs. Many people will be affected.”
In ECI’s final voter list of Bihar: At least 14.35 lakh suspect duplicate voters and 1.32 crore voters of different families, castes and communities bundled and registered at dubious and fictitious addresses.@ayushikar1998 & @Vishnun30 report. 1/3https://t.co/sBS24kP1C8
— the reporters’ collective (@reporters_co) October 7, 2025
Failed Verification Despite SIR
Even attempts to remove deceased voters were unsuccessful. Ward councillor Shanat Kumar of Muzaffarpur reported: “I have repeatedly requested the deletion of more than ten names, including my parents, from my booth. We even took the BLO along and verified, but all the names remain the same. The entire work was done in a hurry.”
Similarly, the BLO of Galimpur village in Pipra, when asked whether duplicate registrations were verified during the second leg of SIR, admitted: “I could not comment. There was no forgery at my booth.”
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Political and Electoral Implications
The flawed voter rolls will be used in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for November 6 and 11, 2025, with 7.43 crore voters eligible. Analysts warn that such errors, including duplicate and fictitious registrations, undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
The Reporters’ Collective investigation also uncovered politically sensitive attempts at voter deletion. “During reporting, we discovered that in Dhaka constituency, the BJP had repeatedly tried to delete around 80,000 Muslim voters from the rolls,” the report noted.
Timeline of the SIR
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June 24, 2025: ECI announces SIR.
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June 25 – July 25: First leg – all voters asked to register afresh. Booth-level officers distributed and collected forms; document requirements were later relaxed.
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August 1: Draft voter list published. Investigations revealed thousands of duplicate voters and bogus addresses.
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Second leg: Local authorities were to verify claims and documents, while political volunteers could suggest deletions and additions.
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September 30: Final voter list released. CEC Gyanesh Kumar claimed the Bihar rolls were “purified” for the first time in 22 years.
Key Findings
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1.32 crore voters registered at dubious or fake addresses.
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14.35 lakh suspect duplicate voters, with 3.42 lakh exact matches.
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Hundreds of deceased voters remain on the list.
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Booth-level officers and constituency-level election officials failed to conduct proper verification.
The Reporters’ Collective conducted this analysis using a combination of data analytics across all 243 constituencies and field reporting in select constituencies to verify findings. As the report states: “The errors detected in the draft list – including duplicate voters and those registered at fictitious addresses – have been incorporated into the voter database with finality, which will now be used by the ECI to conduct elections in November.”
This investigation challenges the CEC’s claims of a fully “purified” voter list and underscores the need for rigorous scrutiny before the SIR exercise is rolled out nationwide.
