Opposition leaders say the voter-roll deletions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) decided the Bihar election of 2025 and the 2026 state elections. Analyses by The Quint and the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) find that deletions often exceeded winning margins, but neither shows that the deletions changed the results.
Claim: The SIR deletions decided the outcome of the 2025-26 elections.
Said by: Opposition leaders and parties in the "vote chori" campaign.
What the record shows: Deletions were larger than winning margins in many seats, but the available data cannot show how deleted voters would have voted. ISAS concludes the SIR "would not have fundamentally changed" the BJP's mandate in West Bengal.
Where the claim came from
The SIR removed very large numbers of names: about 47 lakh net in Bihar and about 91 lakh in West Bengal. SabrangIndia ThePrint/PTI The NDA then won 202 of 243 seats in Bihar, and the BJP won West Bengal with 207 seats. Deccan Herald ISAS
Opposition parties linked the two, calling the revision "vote chori" (vote theft). Critics say it targeted voters not aligned with the BJP and its allies. ThePrint
What the evidence shows
Bihar. The Quint found that in 174 seats the number of deleted voters was larger than the winning margin. Of these, 91 seats changed hands, and the NDA won 75 of them. In Sandesh, the JD(U) won by 27 votes in a seat with 25,682 deletions. The Quint
But The Quint states plainly: "This analysis does not imply that deletions directly changed outcomes in these seats." The data does not show whether deleted voters would have voted, whether they were duplicates, or whether they had genuinely moved. It "highlights where volatility was concentrated, not why outcomes shifted." The Quint
West Bengal. Claim · ISAS, NUS Ronojoy Sen of ISAS found that in 105 seats the BJP won, total deletions exceeded its margin. Deletions were disproportionately high in Muslim-heavy seats, which usually back the TMC, and the TMC's tally in the 32 Muslim-majority seats fell from 32 to 23. Counting only voters under adjudication, the SIR "possibly had an impact on around two dozen closely-contested constituencies". ISAS
His conclusion: the SIR "would not have fundamentally changed the overwhelming mandate in favour of the BJP", which won 46% of the vote to the TMC's 41%. ISAS
ECI's position The Commission says the deletions were routine and removed dead, shifted, duplicate and ineligible entries. The Quint
Context
"Not shown" is not the same as "false". A few close seats may have been affected, and about 34 lakh appeals in West Bengal are still being decided, with roughly 70% of early decisions restoring the voter. The News Minute The Supreme Court upheld the SIR on 27 May 2026. The Week See the SIR and CEC page for state-by-state figures.
Questions people ask
Did the SIR change the Bihar election result?
That has not been shown. Deletions exceeded the margin in 174 seats, but The Quint says this does not mean the deletions changed outcomes.
Would the TMC have won Bengal without the SIR?
An ISAS analysis says the SIR would not have fundamentally changed the BJP's mandate, though it may have affected about two dozen close seats.
Why can't analysts tell whether deletions changed results?
Deletion data does not say whether those people would have voted, or for whom, or whether entries were duplicates or people who had moved.
Sources
- SabrangIndia: Bihar final list sees 47 lakh names removed, 2025
- ThePrint/PTI: Nearly 91 lakh names deleted in Bengal, 7 Apr 2026
- Deccan Herald: Congress reviews Bihar rout, Nov 2025
- ISAS (NUS), Ronojoy Sen: Insights No. 1374 on the West Bengal election, 8 May 2026
- ThePrint/PTI: Commissioners flagged issues but poll body unanimous, 23 Sep 2026
- The Quint: SIR deletions and Bihar margins, 15 Nov 2025
- The News Minute: SC says EC cannot decide citizenship, 18 Jul 2026
- The Week: Supreme Court upholds SIR, 27 May 2026
