Sabita Devi (name changed) has dutifully voted in every election since she became eligible—casting her ballot in both the 2020 assembly elections and the 2024 general elections. The 28-year-old from a village on the Nepal border in Bihar's Sitamarhi district has her voter card, Aadhaar card, and all the documents she thought she needed to exercise her democratic right.
But she has no idea that her name could soon be erased from the voter list entirely. She doesn't know what a citizenship certificate is, has never heard of the Election Commission's new cleanup drive, and remains completely unaware that officials are supposed to be visiting homes to collect new forms and documents.
"I don't know anything and no officials have so far visited my house," she said, embodying the information crisis that has engulfed millions of voters across Bihar.
Just months before Bihar goes to polls, the Election Commission of India has launched what it calls a 'Special Intensive Revision' of the state's voter list, which has about 7.89 crore names. In simple terms, this is an exercise to weed out fake voters and remove names of people who can't prove they're genuine citizens.
But with the process already running since June 25th, a huge problem has emerged: many of the voters who could be affected have no clue what's happening. From migrant workers in Kerala to foreign-born women married to local men, countless people remain unaware of the new rules that could see their names struck off the voter list.
The announcement on June 24th caused panic in cities and villages alike. But the bigger worry now is that those who will be hit hardest by these changes don't even know they're coming.
Are voters aware of what's happening?
The stories make the problem clear. Mukesh Paswan works in Kerala and got his name added to the voter list just last year. He had no idea about the Election Commission's new rules until this reporter told him. "Now, I will inform my father in the village to get the form submitted," he said.
Sabita Devi doesn't know what a citizenship certificate is, something she now needs to keep voting. She's completely unaware that the Election Commission has announced this voter list cleanup and that people need to submit new forms and documents.
A local villager says around 500 men in her area married women from Nepal, and none of these women have citizenship certificates—a requirement that could see all their names deleted from the voter list.
What were the original rules that caused panic?
The confusion began with complicated instructions the Election Commission issued on June 25th. These said that voters born before July 1, 1987, would need to provide genuine documents about their birth date or birthplace. Those born after July 1, 1987, and before December 2, 2004, would need documents for themselves and one parent. Those born after December 2, 2004, would need documents for themselves and both parents.
Opposition parties said these complex rules were really an attempt to start the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) process. They met with election officials in Delhi to complain.
How have the rules changed?
After heavy criticism, the Election Commission issued new instructions on June 30th. These say that voters whose names aren't in the 2003 voter list can simply fill in their parents' details from that old list instead of providing separate documents. They only need to submit valid documents about themselves.
But even with these simpler guidelines, awareness remains low. The Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar issued a statement saying this cleanup aims to make sure all eligible citizens can vote while keeping fake names off the list, and that the process of adding or removing names would be transparent.
How is the process being carried out?
To complete this process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit every home to verify voter details, following constitutional rules about who can and cannot vote.
The Election Commission is using about 78,000 BLOs for this work. Since they've also decided to limit polling booths to 1,200 voters each, new voting centers are being built, requiring an additional 20,603 BLOs. On top of this, one lakh volunteers will help voters fill forms and handle other tasks.
But the reality on the ground suggests this outreach isn't working. A BLO who didn't want to be named told BOOM, "It is practically not possible to complete the process in one month. It will take a lot of time. The process started about a week ago but many BLOs have not even received the kit so that they can reach voters."
Why is 2003 being used as the baseline?
The Election Commission says the last major voter list cleanup in Bihar happened in 2003, which is why they're using that year's list as the baseline. The 4.96 crore voters from 2003 shouldn't face problems in this current cleanup.
The real challenge is with the 2.93 crore new voters added after 2003. Many of these people, unaware of the new requirements, risk losing their voting rights.
How can migrant workers participate?
The information gap is especially bad for migrant workers. Jamshed Alam (32) has been working in Kerala for five years but votes in Bihar. He's worried about the Election Commission's new rules after learning about them. "It is not possible for me to go home so soon, so I will ask my father and brother to fill the form for me," he told BOOM.
While migrant workers can fill forms online or have family members do it for them, most don't know about these options.
What documents are needed for voters added after 2003?
Voters added to the list after 2003 need to provide their parents' details from the 2003 voter list, plus any one document about themselves. This could be a school certificate, birth certificate, caste certificate, or if their father owns land, they can provide family records. The other documents that are accepted are: Identity card or pension payment order issued to regular employees and pensioners of any central, state government, public sector undertaking; any identity card, certificate or document issued by any government, local body, bank, post office, LIC, public sector undertaking in India before July 1, 1987; passport; domicile certificate issued by competent state authority; forest rights certificate; and family register of state government or local body among others.
Officials told BOOM that if a BLO is satisfied that someone is local and an Indian citizen, they can even accept a letter from the village head.
Importantly, driving licenses, Aadhaar cards, or even existing voter cards won't work as proof of citizenship for voters who joined after 2003.
What about foreign women married to Bihar men?
The cleanup poses special problems for foreign women married to Bihar men. If a woman from Nepal, Bangladesh, or any other country married a local man and got her name added after 2003, she must now submit her Indian citizenship certificate along with the new form. If she hasn't become an Indian citizen, her name will be deleted.
A BLO told BOOM, "We have clear instructions that if foreign woman has not taken Indian citizenship by applying in the Home Ministry and got her name enrolled in the voter list by obtaining a fake Aadhaar card or other documents then her name will be deleted from the voter list."
Seven Bihar districts border Nepal, and marriages between Bihar and Nepal citizens are very common in these border areas. This cleanup will heavily impact Nepal-origin women living in border districts, many of whom have no idea about the new requirements.
What's the timeline for completion?
The cleanup process started on June 25th, and by July 26th, all forms must be distributed and collected. The Election Commission wants to publish the final voter list by September 30th.
BLOs have been told to visit each voter at least three times to collect filled forms. To ensure transparency, all recognised political parties have appointed 1,54,977 booth-level agents to monitor the process.
If voters can't submit forms by the deadline, they can apply to add their names during a complaint period from August 1st to September 1st by submitting Form-6 and a declaration.
But this massive task of reaching 7.89 crore people seems to be struggling with poor preparation and, most importantly, the widespread lack of awareness among the very voters whose political future is at stake.