Daijiworld Media Network – Kurtha
Kurtha, Nov 14: People stood in long queues at Kurtha village on November 11 as the final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded. But even as voting wrapped up peacefully, a fresh controversy erupted over the State’s voter rolls.
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Friday raised sharp questions to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking clarity on what he described as an “unexplained increase” of over three lakh voters in Bihar.
Mr. Bhattacharya pointed out that after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Bihar’s electoral roll stood at 7.42 crore. However, the ECI’s figures released during its post-poll press conference placed the number at 7,45,26,858, reflecting an increase of more than 3 lakh voters.
Taking to X, the CPI(ML) leader demanded that the Commission explain the discrepancy.
“After the SIR, Bihar had 7.42 crore voters. But the ECI says 7,45,26,858. How did this increase happen after the revision?” he wrote.
The ECI had issued a press note after the completion of the first two phases of polling, reiterating the total number of voters as 7,45,26,858.
The SIR exercise, conducted across multiple States, has already triggered widespread criticism, with several political parties alleging inconsistencies, deletions, and irregularities in voter data.
The controversy has now added a new layer of scrutiny to an already heated election season in Bihar.