Union Minister Chirag Paswan defends voter list revision, calls it "sanitisation"

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 5 (ANI): Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken in Bihar, urging political stakeholders not to view the exercise through a partisan lens.
He described the process as a routine yet crucial measure to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter data.
"Don't make this just a political issue. This is a process of sanitisation which has been followed from time to time. It is important to follow it," Paswan said, emphasising that the exercise is aimed at maintaining a clean and credible electoral system.
Paswan noted that the names of deceased individuals and non-local residents often appear in voter rolls.
"It has been seen many a time that slips are being issued even for those people who died decades ago. It is also seen that sometimes the names of non-locals are also on the voter list," he stated.
He added that his party remains available to assist citizens facing genuine difficulties during the revision drive
"So, an effort has been made to simplify the process. Still, if someone comes to us with an issue, we try to help them after speaking to the Administration. We are so concerned about intruders. So, we will have to adopt this process gradually," he added.
Meanwhile, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being undertaken in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections is progressing smoothly on the ground, with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) completing their first round of visits to nearly 1.5 crore households across the state.
According to official data, more than 87 per cent of Enumeration Forms have already been distributed during the door-to-door verification drive, which is being carried out as part of the Election Commission's ongoing efforts to update and verify the electoral rolls.
According to the Election Commission, the first visit of the Booth Level Officers (BLOS) to nearly 1.5 crore households in the state was completed today and over 87 per cent Enumeration Forms (i.e. 6,86,17,932) out of the total of 7,89,69,844 (nearly 7.90 crore) electors in Bihar who are enrolled as on June 24, 2025, have been distributed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted in the state.
The remaining houses could be locked, or belong to deceased electors, migrants, or those who may be travelling.
Since the BLO shall be visiting the houses of the electors three times during the exercise, these figures are likely to increase further.
The partially filled forms are also available for download on the ECI portal, as well as on the ECINET App. Electors can upload the filled forms themselves on the ECINET App.
Besides, 1,54,977 Booth Level Agents (BLAS) appointed by various political parties are also providing active support in the SIR process.
As on July 2, BJP has appointed 52,689 BLAS, followed by 47,504 of RJD, 34,669 of JD(U), 16,500 of INC, 1913 of Rashtriya Lok Jan Shakti Party, 1271 of CPI(ML)L, 1153 of Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), 578 of CPI(M), 270 of Rashtriya Lok Samta Party besides others such as BSP (74), NPP (3) and AAP (1). Each BLA can submit up to 50 certified forms per day.
Nearly five per cent filled-up and signed forms, i.e. nearly 38 lakh forms have already been received by the BLOS, who are working sincerely with the sole motto - Inclusion First, which has been repeatedly emphasised upon by the Commission.
As per SIR, to have one's name included in the Draft Electoral Roll to be published on August 1, 2025, the strict condition for an elector is to sign and submit the pre-printed form.
Enumeration Form before 25th July 2025. Simultaneous verification of the uploaded forms has also been started.
Despite apprehensions from some quarters, SIR will ensure that all eligible persons are included.
Based on the documents attached or not attached, along with the signed Enumeration Form, eligibility verification of each name included in the draft rolls will be conducted continuously upon receipt.
Verification will commence vigorously from August 2, 2025, onwards, following the publication of the draft electoral rolls. Based on the published Draft of Electoral Rolls, Claims and Objections will be received from any political parties or any member of the public from 2nd August 2025 onwards.
The final electoral rolls will be published on September 30, 2025. Appeals can also be filed thereafter with the DM and the CEO. (ANI)