Patna: Tejashwi Yadav has expressed strong concerns over the ongoing revision of Bihar’s electoral roll, accusing the Election Commission of selectively removing names from Yadav-dominated areas ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Leader of the Opposition claimed that the names of Dalits and other marginalised groups are being struck off under the pretext of “intensive scrutiny”. Addressing the media, Yadav said he feared a deliberate attempt to manipulate voter rolls in constituencies where the Yadav community, a core support base of his party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is in significant numbers.
His statement follows recent reports suggesting that the Election Commission has identified nearly 3.5 million entries in the voter list for removal, citing deaths, permanent migration, or duplicate registrations. The revision process is scheduled to continue until July 25.
“How is it that we already know 35 lakh names will be removed when the process hasn’t even concluded?” Yadav asked. He alleged that the revision appears to disproportionately affect regions known to back the Grand Alliance, particularly the RJD.
Yadav warned that deleting even 10 names per booth could result in the loss of over 3,000 voters per assembly constituency — a figure he said could swing outcomes in closely contested seats. “In the 2020 elections, 35 seats were decided by margins of less than 3,000 votes. That’s how critical this is,” he said.
He further accused the Election Commission of acting under pressure from the ruling BJP, claiming that deletions are being concentrated in select booths and social groups to benefit the party electorally.
The Yadav community is a major electoral bloc in Bihar, making up 14.2% of the population according to the state’s 2023 caste census. Their influence is particularly strong in districts like Patna, Samastipur, Madhepura, Muzaffarpur and East Champaran.
Yadav signalled that his party would soon announce a “concrete plan of action” to counter what he called a systematic disenfranchisement of marginalised communities.
