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With 11 days to go, 88% of Bihar's voters submit enumeration forms

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PATNA: Bihar's 7.9 crore-strong electoral rolls could be purged of 35 lakh-odd voters after Election Commission's ongoing special intensive revision revealed that 2.2 per cent of electors have permanently shifted out of the state, almost 1.59 per cent have died, and 0.73 per cent are enrolled in more than one place.

In an official status update on the exercise, which will continue till July 25, EC said Monday that booth-level officers had covered over 88 per cent of the electorate with 11 days to go for the revision to end.

Unconfirmed reports on data verification through detailed enumeration forms suggest an unspecified number of illegal immigrants from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have infiltrated the rolls through identity fraud. RJD and other INDIA bloc constituents have questioned the veracity of these reports, while BJP insists that should be worrying only for the opposition.

"After two rounds of door-to-door visits by BLOs, enumeration forms of 6.6 crore electors in Bihar have been collected...Only 11.82 per cent of electors now remain," EC said on Monday. The statement mentioned that electors could fill in enumeration forms online through the newly launched ECINet platform, and also look up their details in the 2003 electoral rolls. Over 5.74 crore forms had been uploaded till 6pm Monday, with the document review module of ECINet speeding up verification.

An FIR was lodged against Gaurishankar, a government schoolteacher deployed for the special intensive revision of rolls in Manpur block of Wazirganj constituency, for allegedly taking bribes to fudge voter data. He could be suspended pending an inquiry, officials said.

EC statement said many people had sought time to submit their enumeration forms with documents supporting their status as voters.

"Nearly 1 lakh BLOs will soon begin their third round of door-to-door visits. Of the 1.5 lakh booth level agents appointed by all political parties, each can certify and submit up to 50 EFs a day. To ensure that no eligible urban voter is left out of the rolls, special camps are also being set up in all the 5,683 wards of the 261 urban local bodies (ULBs) of Bihar," the poll panel said.
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