Patna, August 31: A recent report by The Reporters’ Collective claimed that over 67,000 duplicate voter entries exist in Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, suggesting possible manipulation. However, the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar has rebutted the claims. According to the Bihar CEO, the current draft rolls published under the SIR are not final. They are explicitly intended for public scrutiny, inviting claims and objections from electors, political parties, and all other stakeholders.

According to the poll body, the figure of 67,826 alleged duplicates cited in the report is based on a data-mining algorithm using names, age, and parentage, not verified through documents or field investigation. In rural Bihar, common names and similar family names are widespread. The Supreme Court has recognised that demographic similarities do not automatically indicate duplication. Unless verified through door-to-door surveys by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), these entries cannot be termed illegal. Fact Check: Did EC Overlook 50 ‘Sons’ of a Single Man in Varanasi? Congress’ Claim Is Misleading, Ram Janaki Math Saints Reveal the Truth.

Bihar CEO Rebuts Media Report Claiming Duplicate Voters in Draft List After SIR

The polling agency explained that the Election Commission of India (ECI) uses ERONET 2.0, a national platform to flag Demographically Similar Entries (DSEs). However, flagged entries are not deleted automatically. BLOs and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) conduct on-ground verification before any action is taken. This ensures genuine voters are not wrongly excluded. For instance, the claim that 5,000 duplicates exist in Valmikinagar cannot be validated unless specific voter details are submitted to the authorities.

The media report cites names like Anjali Kumari (Triveniganj) and Ankit Kumar (Laukaha) as alleged duplicates. However, these cases have already been flagged, and Form 8 applications (for corrections) have been filed. The election commission said such anomalies could be due to migration, clerical error, or misreporting, all of which are routinely corrected during the claims period. Is Election Commission Colluding With BJP To Rig Voters List? ECI Fact-Checks Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Allegations.

The report claims the ECI has made electoral rolls “non-machine-readable” to avoid scrutiny. However, under Rule 22 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, rolls are published in a format that ensures integrity and data privacy.

Fact check

Duplicate Voters Found in Draft Voter List in Bihar Prepared After SIR Exercise? Chief Electoral Officer Rebuts Media Report
Claim :

over 67,000 duplicate voter entries exist in Bihar’s draft electoral rolls after SIR.

Conclusion :

The current draft rolls published under the SIR are not final. They are explicitly intended for public scrutiny.

Full of Trash
Clean

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2025 04:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).