As Bihar gears up for Assembly elections this November, a significant democratic exercise is underway. The Election Commission of India has rolled up its sleeves to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.
The poll body has taken up the mantle of weeding out foreign illegal migrants from the voting list of six states, starting from Bihar.
But let’s be clear this is not some sudden, sweeping experiment. It is a time-tested, constitutionally mandated process under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution. For decades, the ECI has been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of ensuring free and fair elections through regular voter list updates a duty it has faithfully performed since the 1950s.
Article 324(1) of the Indian Constitution gives the Election Commission the authority to supervise, revise, and protect the electoral rolls. Under this, the Election Commission periodically revises the voter lists.
There are several types of revisions:
- Temporary Summary Revision – The Election Commission can conduct a revision at any time for any constituency.
- Summary Revision – It is done before every Lok Sabha and State election, during which names of deceased voters or those who have moved are removed, and new eligible voters are added.
- Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls – This is a more detailed review that essentially creates a completely new voter list.
All this is not something new. The first Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls happened in 1952, followed by ones in 1956, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983, 1984, 1987–1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, and finally in 2002–2003. The last one was 22 years ago, in 2003.
The Election Commission has released a statement saying that a lot has changed in these 22 years — rapid urbanization and mass migration of people across states. Hence, there is now a pressing need for a fresh electoral roll — an Intensive Revision.
This process has already began on June 25 and will continue until July 26.
Now, what will be done in this process?
Earlier, BLOs (Block Level Officers) would visit homes, and the head of the house would fill out a form listing all members of voting age. This time, there’s a change — the BLO will have each individual in the household fill out a separate form. So, if there are seven voters in a home, all seven must fill out individual forms.
Additionally, BLOs will visit homes up to three times. If you’re not available on all three visits, you will not be added to the voter list, and you will be responsible for that. The Election Commission has also provided an online facility — you can download, fill out, and submit the form online.
If the filled form is not submitted by July 25, your name will be removed from the voter list on July 26.
However, this is not the final verdict. If you believe your name was wrongly removed, you can challenge it. A 30-day window has been provided to contest the removal and re-register through the proper process.
So far, this all sounds procedural. So, where’s the transformation?
The real game-changer is a new provision — or rather a new step — taken by the Election Commission. The Commission acknowledged that a lot has changed in the 22 years since 2003, the last time an intensive revision was done.
2003 is now being treated as the cut-off date.
If you became a voter after 2003, you will now have to provide proof of Indian citizenship.
What documents will be accepted?
- Birth Certificate
- Passport
If you cannot provide either, there is still one more provision: if your father’s name was in the voter list before January 1, 2003, it will be presumed that you are an Indian citizen. You will not need to submit any citizenship certificate.
In the name of electoral politics, people who were not Indian citizens were included as voters in the past two decades, this process will now impact them.
They will now have to prove they are Indian citizens.
This overhaul begins with Bihar, which heads for Assembly elections in November 2025, and the Election Commission has announced that before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, this process will be completed across the country.
The Opposition has mounted sharp criticism of the alleged Election Commission’s voter list clean-up in Bihar.
At a joint press conference on June 27, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, and CPI-ML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya called the revision “impractical” and “suspicious,” warning that verifying over eight crore voters during the monsoon — when floods are frequent — could disenfranchise the poor and marginalised.
They alleged that demanding documents like birth certificates, caste proofs, and parental records was akin to an unofficial NRC, with Congress terming it a “dacoity of voting rights.”
The BJP and Janata Dal (United), however, have defended the SIR as a constitutionally mandated process to purge fake entries and ensure free and fair elections. They also point out that opposition parties have deployed over 56,000 Booth-Level Agents (BLAs) to supervise the revision — proof, they say, of their active involvement in the process.
On June 24, 2025, when the Election Commission of India sent a 19-page letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, one line in it drew everyone’s attention. It read: “Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls.”
So, what is this?
In simple terms, the Election Commission wants to update the voter list before the Bihar elections. The Special Intensive Revision will ensure that no eligible elector is left out of the electoral rolls and no ineligible one is part of it.
Now, this happens regularly. So why is there a fuss this time?
Bihar has approximately 7.9 crore voters. Following the new order, 2.93 crore of them will now have to verify their details.
How? Through certain documents, such as those related to the date of birth or place of birth. In many cases, even documents related to parents’ birth date or place may be required.
This means that nearly 37 per cent of Bihar’s voters — roughly every third voter — will not be able to vote unless they complete the necessary paperwork.
To implement this, officials are already distributing forms from June 28.
The Election Commission claims that by September 30, 2025, a new, revised, and foolproof voter list will be prepared.
However, this process is also under scrutiny. Why demand documents from so many people?
One answer being given is that it’s a step towards making voting more transparent. But opposition parties are alleging that there is something more behind it.
Let’s first understand the process in detail: Back in 2003, Bihar saw its first major voter list revision, which included 4.96 crore voters. Now, those voters only need to fill out a nomination form and refer to their name in the 2003 list.
This list is available in hard copy with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or can be downloaded from the Election Commission website.
But for the remaining 3 crore voters, whose names were not in the 2003 list, some additional steps have been introduced.
Those not listed in the 2003 electoral roll have now been categorized into three groups based on date of birth:
- First group – Those born before July 1, 1987: They must provide documentary proof of their birth date and place.
- Second group – Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004: They must provide proof of their birth date/place, as well as that of either parent.
- Third group – Those born after December 2, 2004: They must submit documents related to both their own and their parents’ birth date and place.
This means 65–67% will have to fill out only one form, and only 30–35% will be scrutinized.
Now the question arises, what documents can voters use for verification?
Several documents are accepted, such as: birth certificate, passport, educational certificates issued by recognized boards or universities, residence certificate, caste certificate.
Voters have to submit these documents, including those of their parents, along with the form.
To make the process easier, around 78,000 BLOs are already working on it, and more than 20,000 additional BLOs are being deployed for this intensive scrutiny.
Moreover, over 1 lakh volunteers are being appointed to assist the elderly, sick, and disabled.
Speaking to the media, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said this process is a matter of pride for every Indian, as it will make the voter list more transparent.
Now, the Opposition is confusing this process with the NRC — the National Register of Citizens — but it’s a completely different thing.
The NRC aims to list 100% of all citizens in the country.
This process, however, is for voter list preparation, which includes only those who are above 18 years of age and citizens of India. So naturally, there is no question of NRC, because to be a voter, one must be a citizen and above 18 years of age.
Therefore, this voter list will include only a subset of the total citizen population, excluding those below 18 years of age, who are citizens but not voters. That age group (0–18 years) accounts for around 20–25% of the population, and they will not be on the voter list.
So, how can this be equated to NRC? This is only a voter list, where only those above 18 will be included.
Those equating it with NRC are misleading the people, in fact, several rounds of Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls were carried out during Nehru-Indira regime aimed at removing fake, duplicate, or ineligible entries and adding genuine voters. At that time, no one equated these voter list updates with the NRC.
It is all politically motivated to equate this current voter verification exercise with the NRC.
Just as it was done during Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s regime, the present process continues the same democratic and constitutional practice to uphold electoral integrity.
The Election Commission has also stated in its order that no voter should face any harassment, and that BLOs must ensure this.
Every political party’s booth-level agent will also be involved in the process so that if anyone has a complaint, the BLA can intervene and have the issue resolved immediately.
The ongoing voter list overhaul in Bihar marks a significant step toward cleansing electoral rolls by verifying citizenship and removing ineligible voters. While opposition parties have criticised it as discriminatory and impractical, the Election Commission asserts it is a constitutionally mandated, transparent process aimed at ensuring fair elections. By focusing on documentation and active verification, the process seeks to protect the sanctity of the electoral system.
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