6.5 mn Bihar voters marked for deletion; Oppn claims 20 mn are at risk

EC asks electors to file objections until September 1

As many as 6.5 million electors — or 8.31 per cent of Bihar’s 78.9 million registered voters — stand to lose their franchise in the Assembly elections, scheduled for October-November this year, according to final data from a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll released on Sunday evening by the Election Commission of India (EC). 

The Opposition is expected to continue challenging the legality and intent of the SIR, which it claims will disenfranchise millions from marginalised communities. The matter is being contested in Parliament, on the ground in Bihar, and in the Supreme Court, where a