EC rejects Congress charge of ‘extra voters’, explains why 3 lakh names were added after the roll was frozen

Congress asked how Bihar got 3 lakh new voters mid-election. The Election Commission says this is allowed under poll rules, and routine.

The flashpoint began when the Congress, still reeling from its poor showing in the Bihar assembly election, pointed to what looked like a mismatch in official numbers.

In a Facebook post, the party noted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had pegged Bihar’s electorate at 7.42 crore in an October 6 press note. But after polling ended, the Election Commission’s own press release listed 7.45 crore voters, a jump of roughly three lakh electors.

Congress framed the question sharply: How did Bihar gain three lakh voters in the middle of an election?

EC: ‘Those 3 lakh voters didn’t appear out of nowhere’

By Saturday, the Election Commission had issued a detailed rebuttal.

According to PTI, the 7.42 crore figure, it said, came from the final electoral roll published on September 30, after a special intensive revision. The subsequent increase to 7.45 crore was not an irregularity but a direct outcome of what the election law expressly allows.

According to the EC, as cited by the PTI report,  eligible citizens can apply for inclusion in the voter list even after elections are announced, up to 10 days before the last date of filing nominations in each phase.

That window, which ran through early October, generated thousands of new applications.

Every valid one was verified and added.

The Commission said this was done “so that no eligible voter is deprived of the opportunity to vote”, and that the revised figure was clearly mentioned in the post-poll press release.

Officials offered further granularity:

Phase 1 nominations closed on October 17
Phase 2 nominations closed on October 20

Applications received till the respective cut-offs were processed as per protocol.

Why the issue blew up now

Congress’ frustration isn’t only about numbers; it’s grounded in the political backdrop.

The party had a bruising election, winning just six seats as part of the Mahagathbandhan. Its allies fared little better.

In contrast, the NDA swept the state with 202 of 243 seats, powered by the BJP’s strong tally of 89 and JD(U)’s 85. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) also turned in one of its best performances, winning 19 of 29 seats.

The Mahagathbandhan’s anchor, the RJD, plunged to 25 seats, a steep fall from the 75 it held in 2020.

Against this backdrop, the voter-roll mismatch became fertile ground for political suspicion.