"We are alive": Five Bihar villagers declared 'dead' on voter list ahead of elections

Patna: With less than a month remaining for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, at least five residents of Batsar village in Dhoraiya block were shocked to discover that they had been marked as “dead” in the draft voter list. On Friday, the residents from booth number 216 — Mohan Sah (Serial No. 2), Sanjay Yadav (Serial No. 175), Ramroop Yadav (Serial No. 211), Narendra Kumar Das (Serial No. 364), and Vishnvar Prasad (Serial No. 380) — submitted a memorandum to BDO Arvind Kumar stating, “Sir, we are alive.”

Accompanied by social worker Indradev Mandal, the five individuals expressed concern that the clerical mistake could deprive them of their voting rights. In response, BDO Kumar directed the Booth Level Officer to fill Form-6 and restore the names immediately, assuring that no eligible voter would be denied the opportunity to cast their vote. A similar issue had surfaced earlier in Dumri village under Bagahi Panchayat in Champaran, where 15 individuals were incorrectly listed as “dead.” Conversely, names of deceased voters — including Sonia Sharan, who passed away in 2018, and her son Manit Mani, who died in February 2025 — were still found on the electoral rolls. The 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, covering all 243 constituencies, will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting scheduled for November 14.