ECI clarifies 3 lakh rise in Bihar voter count after Congress flags discrepancy

NEW DELHI — The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday issued a detailed clarification after the Congress raised concerns about a discrepancy of nearly 300,000 voters in Bihar’s electoral roll figures released before and after polling.

In a Facebook post, the Congress questioned why Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar mentioned the total number of voters in Bihar as 74.2 million in an October 6 press note, while the Commission’s press release issued after voting pegged the number at 74.5 million.

The party alleged a lack of transparency and sought an explanation for the sudden increase.

Responding to the allegation, the ECI said the figure of 74.2 million voters cited on October 6 reflected the data available after the final publication of the electoral roll on September 30.

This number was based on a special, in-depth revision carried out before the election schedule was announced.

The Commission underlined that the September 30th electoral roll is always treated as the baseline before an election.

However, under election rules, the Commission continued, any eligible citizen can apply for enrollment until 10 days before the last date of filing nominations for each election phase.

This window remains open even after the election is announced, allowing new voters to submit claims for inclusion.

Officials said that between October 1 and the cutoff period -- 10 days before nomination deadlines for both phases -- the ECI received a large number of valid applications.

After scrutiny, the names of all eligible voters were added to ensure that no qualified citizen is denied the right to vote.

Following the inclusion of these applications, the total number of voters increased by around 300,000, raising the final count to approximately 74.5 million.

This updated figure, the ECI emphasised, was correctly mentioned in its press release issued after the completion of voting.