Patna: Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Pratap Yadav has accused the Election Commission of attempting to influence electoral outcomes in Bihar by allegedly deleting voters’ names without due process. Addressing a press conference at his official residence on Sunday, he said that Bihar has 7.90 crore voters and if even 1% of names are removed, it will mean 7,90,000 voters are erased from the list.
“This translates to 3,251 voters per assembly constituency. In the 2020 elections, the margin of victory and defeat was less than this on 35 seats,” he said. Tejashwi Pratap added that with an average of 320 booths in each assembly, deleting just 10 names per booth will remove over 3,200 voters in a single constituency, which could impact election results significantly.
He alleged that the Election Commission was not resolving doubts raised by opposition parties, and forms were being uploaded incomplete without informing voters, risking their disenfranchisement due to lack of acknowledgment receipts.
State Congress President Rajesh Ram and VIP supremo Mukesh Sahni, who were present, termed the Commission’s approach as “anti-democratic” and accused it of attempting to deprive people of their constitutional rights.
The Grand Alliance has decided to take the voter list revision issue to the grassroots, with leaders and workers visiting villages and booths to create awareness. They also criticised the Commission’s claim that 74% forms had been submitted, calling it inaccurate, and alleged that the ruling NDA was acting out of fear.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to adopt a flexible approach in voter list revision, but opposition leaders say this has not been implemented on the ground.
