The Congress party has once again raised concerns about the irregularities in Bihar’s voter lists. This time, the issue comes from Nidani village in Bodh Gaya, where the party claims that 947 voters have been listed under the same house number.
Bihar electoral roll: Congress’s fresh allegations
In a detailed post on social media, the party pointed out that nearly 947 voters had been assigned to “house number 6” in Nidani. Congress said this suggested that the entire village had been placed under one “imaginary” house, even though Nidani has hundreds of houses and families. The party described this as an unusual situation and alleged that the Election Commission had failed to carry out proper door-to-door verification.
Bihar voter list: Congress claims 947 voters listed under one ‘imaginary house’ in Nidani village
The Congress further argued that the omission of real house numbers from the electoral roll could open doors to misuse. It suggested that this kind of listing makes it easier to hide fake or duplicate voters and questioned who might benefit from such practices. The party said this was not a minor error but an example of how transparency was being compromised in the election process. It also linked the matter to its larger criticism of alleged threats to Indian democracy, saying Nidani was proof of how the system was being manipulated.
The party called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to give an explanation and demanded accountability from the Election Commission. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi amplified the issue by reposting the claims on his social media account, sarcastically commenting that an entire village appeared to have been registered under one house. “See the EC’s magic, an entire village settled in one house,” Gandhi wrote on X.
Gaya authorities say house number only symbolic
In response, the Gaya district administration released a set of video statements from Nidani residents to clarify the situation, The Indian Express reported. Local officials explained that the “house number” in question was only symbolic. Since many rural villages do not have official house numbers, the Election Commission uses what it calls “notional house numbers” for record-keeping.
One villager stated that the claim of 900 votes being linked to a single house was misleading. He said all the voters were genuine residents of Nidani and that the Commission’s verification process had been carried out properly. Another resident explained that she had been a registered voter for years, her name continued to appear on the rolls, and the absence of house numbers in the village had never affected her voting.
Bihar Chief Electoral Officer clarifies
The Bihar Chief Electoral Officer’s office also issued a clarification. It explained that notional house numbers are created only for convenience in villages, slums, or temporary settlements where houses do not have formal numbering systems. In such cases, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visit the locality and assign serial numbers like 1, 2, 3, and so on. These are then used in the electoral rolls to keep the list orderly and to ensure that voters can be identified properly.