New Delhi [India], July 22 : The Election Commission of India on Tuesday shared that during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, it has discovered that 18 lakh of the registered voters have passed away, and 26 lakh electors have shifted to another constituency.
ECI also noted that more than 7 lakh voters are enrolled at two places.
In a release, ECI shared that out of the total 7,89,69,844 voters, 97.30 per cent, or 76,834,228, have filled the enumeration forms so far.
The Election Commission said that CEO/DEOs/EROs/BLOs are extensively working with the representatives of all political parties and have shared a list of 21.36 lakh electors whose forms have not been received so far.
ERO/BLOs have also shared a list of nearly 52.30 lakh electors who are reportedly deceased, have permanently shifted, or have enrolled at multiple places.
Additionally, detailed lists of voters not found are being shared by EROs/BLOs with political parties, ECI added.
According to the poll body, a full one-month period, from August 1 to September 1, will be available to any member of the public to file objections for any additions, deletions, and rectifications in draft electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has repeatedly criticised SIR, accusing the NDA alliance of taking voting rights away from people.
Earlier in the day, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed strong reservations against the SIR, accusing the government of "murdering democracy."
Priyanka Gandhi posted on X, alleging that elections were "rigged" in Maharashtra earlier by inflating the voter list, and now, attempts to remove voters' names were being made in Bihar. She labelled the SIR exercise as a "conspiracy to snatch the right to vote."
"First, in Maharashtra, elections were rigged by inflating voter lists. Now, in Bihar, attempts are being made to do the same by removing voters' names. The 'vote ban' being imposed under the guise of SIR is a conspiracy to snatch the right to vote granted by the Constitution. We stand firmly against every attempt to trample the Constitution," Gandhi, who took part in the protest, said.
Multiple leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, stood at the steps of the Parliament at Makar Dwar and protested against the Bihar SIR, calling for the exercise to be stopped.
Bihar Assembly elections are expected to be held later this year in October or November; however, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced an official date.
While the NDA, consisting of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will once again be looking to continue their stint in Bihar, the INDIA bloc, consisting of the RJD, Congress, and left parties, will be looking to unseat Nitish Kumar.