Yogendra Yadav raised serious concerns over the deletion of 65 lakh names from the Bihar draft voter list, calling it a major threat to voter rights and alleging that the “real game begins now” with electoral manipulation.
Political analyst and founder of Swaraj Abhiyan, Yogendra Yadav, expressed his disappointment on Friday (August 1, 2025) regarding the draft voter list released by the Election Commission (EC), which showed a total of 7.24 crore voters.
He noted that while this number wasn’t unexpected, the omission of 65 lakh names from the list was concerning. Yadav pointed out that, according to the census, Bihar has 8.18 crore adults, yet the draft rolls include only 7.24 crore names.
He remarked to media,
“The EC is not even ashamed of it,”
He stated, “The real game begins now,” highlighting that the category labeled “not recommended by the Booth Level Officer” would undergo special scrutiny, potentially leading to deletions.
Individuals who fail to provide necessary documentation in the upcoming month could also find their names removed.
Warning that objections from any voter might result in additional names being deleted, he asserted,
“The numbers could be huge,”
He added,
“On these three grounds, people may still be eliminated. So 65 lakh is just the beginning,”
Yadav observed that in the two districts with a significant Muslim population, Purnia and Kishanganj, the numbers were slightly below the state average, though not alarmingly so.
He criticized the EC for claiming transparency in providing deleted names to political parties, questioning,
“Where is the list?”
He lamented that the format of the information released makes it nearly impossible to compare with previous lists, stating,
“It is virtually impossible to extract that information, and that is not befitting a constitutional authority like the EC. The list conceals more than it reveals.”
Finally, Yadav called for the immediate cessation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, labeling it “absolutely unconstitutional.” He argued that this process is not merely a revision of the electoral roll but an attempt to alter the foundations of India’s universal adult franchise.
He emphasized that for the first time, the responsibility is being placed on voters, implying a presumption of non-citizenship.
He concluded,
“These two fundamental things go against the very tenets of universal adult franchise in a country like India,”
Earlier, Yogendra Yadav has approached the Supreme Court with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the recent move by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to carry out a “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.