How did three lakh extra voters appear? EC addresses controversy

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has rejected the opposition’s allegation that more people voted in the Bihar elections than the actual number of voters. The Commission issued a press release explaining how the voter count increased by more than three lakh.

According to the Election Commission, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the final voter list had 7.42 crore voters. After this, around 3 lakh more people added their names, bringing the total to 7.45 crore. This updated number was included in the press release.

The Commission said that even after the final voter list was published, there was a 10-day period during which new voters could still add their names. That is how the number reached 7.45 crore. The Commission also clarified that the press release did not say that all these voters had voted. The misunderstanding happened because some people interpreted the total number of voters as the number of people who voted. The Commission added that names were added to ensure that no eligible voter lost their chance to vote.

In an earlier press release issued after polling, the Election Commission had mentioned that 7,45,26,858 people had voted. Since this number was more than the previous voter count, parties like the CPI(M) and Congress had asked for an explanation on how the increase happened.