SIR in Bihar: EC releases draft electoral rolls; claims and objections open till September 1 | India News – Times of India

The Election Commission (EC) released the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on Friday, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted over a month, in preparation for the forthcoming assembly elections.Whilst the consolidated list was not provided, voters can verify their details on the EC’s official website.Prior to the SIR commencement in June, Bihar had 7.93 crore registered voters, as per EC records.The total number of voters in the newly published draft rolls remains undisclosed.Officials stated that printed copies of the rolls would be distributed to various political party representatives later that day.The draft rolls’ publication initiated the “claims and objections” phase, continuing until September 1. Voters who believe their names were incorrectly removed can seek resolution from relevant authorities during this period.The state is scheduled for assembly elections later this year.During the initial SIR phase, voters received “enumeration forms” from either booth-level officers (BLO) or booth-level agents (BLA) appointed by political parties. These forms required signatures and supporting identity documents.An online option for downloading and submitting enumeration forms was also available.By July 25, the EC reported that “7.23 crore voters” had submitted their forms, whilst 35 lakh were identified as “permanently migrated or untraceable”.Additionally, 22 lakh were reported deceased, and 7 lakh individuals were found registered in multiple electoral rolls.The EC noted that 1.2 lakh voters did not submit their enumeration forms.This extensive exercise involved BLOs stationed across 77,895 polling centres, supported by 1.60 lakh BLAs and additional volunteers, overseen by 243 EROs (Electors Registration Officers) and 2,976 Assistant EROs.Opposition parties challenged the exercise, suggesting it was designed to “help” the ruling NDA in the upcoming elections. The Supreme Court, responding to filed petitions, stated this week that the SIR should facilitate “en masse inclusion and not en masse exclusion”.