Patna (Bihar) [India], August 2 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, alleging his own EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number has been "changed."
"If my own EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number could be changed, then how many people's EPIC numbers have been changed? These are the questions we are posing to the Election Commission. This is a conspiracy to cut people's names from the voter list...," he said.
ECI released the draft electoral rolls on Friday afternoon, following the completion of the Enumeration Phase under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025. It said the public has one month to submit claims and objections, assuring that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason."
Tejashwi further, in a post on X, alleged that approximately 65 lakh voter names have been arbitrarily removed from the electoral rolls, and the new draft list still lacks clarity and explanation. He accused the Election Commission of going back on its promises of transparency and fairness.
"There has been deliberate manipulation in the process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 of the electoral rolls. The Election Commission is now going back on its own commitments. Even after removing nearly 65 lakh voters, the new draft list remains ambiguous. It is unfortunate that the Commission continues to alter its decisions, withdraws from transparency, and disregards suggestions, complaints, and demands from the opposition while releasing a half-baked list."
"Initially, the Election Commission had assured that the details of every name deleted from the voter list--along with reasons such as death, shifting of residence, duplication, or being untraceable--would be shared with all political parties. This was meant to ensure trust in the fairness, transparency, and democratic spirit of the process. However, the Commission has now backtracked on its own orders and assurances."
He further criticised the format of the lists being shared with political parties. "The so-called ASD (Absent, Shifted, Dead) list being provided to political parties in various districts only carries the title: "Part-wise list of elector of concerned constituency whose Enumeration Form is not submitted and whose name is not in Draft Roll 2025. While this list identifies which names are missing from the draft voter roll, it does not mention why they were excluded," he said.
The lists, titled "Part-wise list of electors of the concerned constituency whose Enumeration Form is not submitted and whose name is not in Draft Roll 2025," do not specify the reasons for deletion.
"This makes it impossible for political parties or the public to verify whether a name was removed due to death, migration, or any other legitimate reason," Tejashwi claimed.
According to him, an average of 25,000 to 30,000 names have been cut from each assembly constituency.
"On average, 25,000 to 30,000 names have been deleted from each assembly constituency. This list does not help political parties or citizens understand whether a name was removed due to death, change of residence, duplication, or any other reason. How can one determine from a list of 25,000-30,000 names who is deceased and who has shifted?" he mentioned in the post.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India on Saturday said that not a single claim or objection has been filed by any political party in the first 24 hours of the publication of the draft electoral rolls in Bihar.
"From August 1 (3 PM) till August 2 (3 PM), all political parties put together, have filed 'Zero' claims and objections for the addition of the names of eligible electors and deletion of the names of ineligible electors," said the poll panel in a press note.
The ECI in a press note said, "As per SIR order, after the completion of the Enumeration Phase from 24 June to 25 July 2025, the draft Electoral Rolls have been published for Bihar on 1 August 2025."
A detailed list of electors whose names appeared in the June 24 rolls but were missing in the new draft was also shared with political parties for cross-verification.
Additionally, 1.60 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by District Presidents of 12 political parties actively participated in the process on the ground.
The commission enabled electors to verify their names through the official link -- https://voters.eci.gov.in -- using their EPIC numbers.
They were also allowed to file claims and objections for inclusion or deletion of names through the same portal.