After its move to cleanse the Bihar elections of criminals—with its orders to execute non-bailable warrants and unearth illegal arms—the Election Commission is cracking down on ‘‘fake’’ voters. Nearly 20 lakh names have been deleted from the voter list as part of the exercise.Cleaning the list of dead, shifted or residual ‘‘fake’’ voters, the EC has deleted 1 lakh names in Patna alone. In Darbhanga, Begusarai and Muzaffarnagar districts, 50,000 to 60,000 names have been deleted, EC officials said.No district has been exempted from the drive. ‘‘A survey was conducted by the Commission to detect names of voters who have long been dead, or have shifted residences, and continue to be listed in more than one constituency. These names have been systematically removed,’’ a senior EC official said.Added to the deleted names are those of persons against whom NBWs have been pending for over six months. EC officials said that names of ‘‘non-existent’’ voters gave scope for ‘‘mischief’’ by political parties. Such names may be used for casting bogus votes.To thwart any malpractice, heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces is being made, and 150 companies have already been deployed. The EC has decided to disallow polling unless the forces are posted at booths. ‘‘We have issued a strict order—‘No police, no EMVs’. This is to ensure that the forces are not confined to barracks and are properly deployed. The state has been flooded by police,’’ said an EC official.From supervising road repairs to preparing electoral list prior to the four-phase elections on October 18, 26 and November 13 and 19, the EC had to take extra initiatives as ‘‘normal state machinery has broken down in Bihar’’, said the official.The EC has not only issued electronic voter identity cards to 80 per cent of the voters in the state, but is also taking daily feedback from district-level police and administrative officials on execution of NBWs and unearthing of illegal arms.‘‘Officers found wanting or not delivering their quota of arrests have been transferred,’’ an EC official said.
