EC releases draft voter list for Bihar, says "still full one month to get names added"

Patna (Bihar) [India] , August 2 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday released the draft voter list for Bihar, following a month-long special intensive revision (SIR) process. The EC said the public has one month to submit claims and objections, assuring that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason."
In a statement, the ECI clarified that the draft list has already been shared with all political parties and urged citizens to review their voter information thoroughly and also specified that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason"
"The draft voter list has been released today in Bihar. One-month period for claims and objections begins; draft list shared with political parties. Still a full one month to get names added. No name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason," the Commission stated in a statement on X.
On Thursday, Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, said."Dear Electors of Bihar, as per Para 7(4) of SIR orders (Page 3), the draft electoral rolls of Bihar are being published tomorrow ie Friday, the 1 Aug 2025 at https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll?stateCode=S04."
"Physical as well as digital copies will also be given to all recognised political parties in Bihar in all 38 districts by all the 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) of Bihar," the CEC said in a message, according to Voters' Services Portal.
The CEC said that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar and 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will also be inviting any elector of that assembly constituency or any recognised political party in Bihar to come forward and give claims and objections from Aug 1 to Sep 1, 2025 for adding names of any missing eligible elector, removing names of any ineligible elector or correction of any entry in the draft electoral rolls.
The Election Commission had said on Sunday that out of 7.89 crore registered voters in Bihar, over 7.24 crore electors have submitted their enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) held from June 24 to July 25, reflecting a 91.69 per cent participation rate.
The Commission described the SIR as a "massive and successful citizen participation effort" across the state, aimed at enhancing the accuracy of the electoral rolls ahead of upcoming assembly elections.
Election Commission said in a press release that the enumeration exercise was launched to verify and update voter records across all 38 districts of Bihar."
The first aim of SIR was participation of all electors and all political parties," adding that the role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Booth Level Agents (BLAs), volunteers, and political party workers contributed significantly to the process.
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visited each registered elector's residence, distributing and collecting forms in at least three rounds. Additional efforts targeted urban voters, young first-time voters, and temporary migrants from Bihar.
The ECI had clarified that names in the electoral rolls will not be deleted without a proper notice and written order by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), as per SIR guidelines.
Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has also revealed that approximately 35 lakh electors are either untraced or have permanently migrated from their registered addresses.
The Supreme Court had earlier this week posted for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission of India's move to conduct SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The pleas are listed for August 12 and 13.
On petitioners' apprehension that 65 lakh voters are going to be excluded from the draft list to be published by the Election Commission of India in the SIR process on August 1, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that if there is any mass exclusion of voters, then the court will step in.
On Monday, the top court again asked ECI to consider including the Aadhaar card and electoral photo identity card as admissible documents to prove the identity of voters during the SIR of electoral rolls being undertaken in Bihar. It had also refused to stop the Election Commission from publishing the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on August 1 as per the schedule. (ANI)