Patna: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar is progressing smoothly and on schedule, despite concerns raised by opposition parties about possible voter exclusion.
Speaking at a training session for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Gyanesh Kumar said, “The implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar is running as per schedule with the active participation of all election staff and all political parties in a transparent manner. Despite apprehensions of some persons, SIR will ensure that all eligible persons will be included.”
Speaking at the BLO training session, Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India, says, “The implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar is running as per schedule with the active participation of all election staff and all political parties in a… pic.twitter.com/grGttLTf7G
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2025
The Special Intensive Revision is a focused voter list update exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure electoral rolls are accurate ahead of upcoming elections.
Opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), have expressed concern that the SIR process may be misused to disenfranchise voters, particularly the poor and marginalised communities.
In response, the ECI stated that the exercise is being conducted strictly in line with the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. It said the aim is to remove ineligible entries while ensuring that no eligible voter is left out.
“Commission stated that SIR is being conducted in accordance with provisions of Article 326, RP Act 1950 & instructions issued on 24.06.2025. Party representatives raised concerns related to SIR. Each concern which was raised by any member of PP was fully addressed by the Commission,” the ECI said in an official post.
Representative of political parties meet CEC
A group of 18 leaders from 11 political parties met with the Election Commissioners regarding the upcoming Bihar elections at Nirvachan Sadan on July 2.
The Commission, under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, heard the concerns, issues and queries raised by the party representatives and decoded for them, the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) which is well underway in Bihar and is progressing smoothly, said Election Commission in a statement.
The political parties were – Indian National Congress, RJD, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Communist Party of India, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey).
ECI informed the political parties that the SIR exercise is being conducted in a planned, structured and a phased manner to facilitate the inclusion of all eligible citizens. Active participation by 1,54,977 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by the recognised political parties across the state of Bihar is also ensuring that the process is happening in a transparent manner.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar exhorted all political parties to come forward and appoint even more BLAs to assist the voters in enrolment and make the process fully transparent and participative.
Voter list revision to be completed in 5 phases
In the first phase, from 25th June to 3rd July 2025, Enumeration Forms (EFs) are being printed and distributed to the approximately 7.90 crore electors in Bihar. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are making available partially pre-filled forms, based on existing records as on 23rd June 2025, through the 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) pressed into action for the exercise, and further 20,603 BLOs are being appointed. These BLOs are delivering the EFs door-to-door to all the 7.90 crore electors whose names are on the Electoral Roll as on 24.06.2025 (date of issue of SIR order). In addition, the forms are available for download on the ECI portal and the BLAs appointed by political parties may also submit up to 50 certified forms per day.
In a press release issued on July 4, the commission informed that the first visit of BLO’s to nearly 1.5 crore households in the state has been completed with nearly 87 per cent of the Enumeration Forms (6,86,17,932) already distributed to the enrolled electors.
#Bihar #SIR being implemented smoothly on ground
✅First visit of BLOs in nearly 1.5 crore households completed
✅ over 87% Enumeration Forms distributed
Read more : https://t.co/qFeY92p3PT pic.twitter.com/jnn3AtbiYS
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) July 4, 2025
In the second phase, the Enumeration Forms will be filled and are to be submitted before 25th July 2025. To support this process, volunteers are available to assist the voters alongside the BLOs. Nearly 4 lakh volunteers which include government officials, NCC cadets, NSS etc. have been deployed to make the process seamless for the voters and help the old, sick, Persons with Disabilities (PwD), poor and other vulnerable groups.
Electors whose names exist in the Electoral Roll as on 1st January 2003 are only required to submit the Enumeration Form along with an extract of the roll, without the need for submitting any other documents. Those not listed in the 2003 Roll will need to submit a document (from the indicative list of 11 documents) for their date of birth/place of birth as per their birthdate as follows, individuals born before 1st July 1987, to provide a document for themselves, those born between 1st July 1987 and 2nd December 2004, to include documents for themselves and one parent, Individuals born after 2nd December 2004, to submit documents for themselves and both parents.
Electors whose parents’ names were on the Electoral Roll as of 01.01.2003, need not submit any additional documents relating to their parents.
In the third phase of the exercise, running parallel from June 25 to 26th July 2025, the completed Enumeration Forms will be collected by the BLOs along with the self-attested documents and will also upload the data through the BLO App/ECINET on a daily basis. While collecting the forms, the BLOs will issue acknowledgement receipts to the electors. These physical forms will be submitted to the respective EROs or Assistant EROs (AEROs).
A facility for online submission of Enumeration Forms has been developed to further ease the process for electors and will be available by today evening.
In the fourth phase, the Draft Electoral Roll will be published on the 1st of August 2025. The list will include all electors whose forms have been received by the deadline. Names for which no Enumeration Form has been submitted before 25th July will not appear in the Draft Roll. EROs and AEROs will scrutinize the forms against the eligibility criteria laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution, which requires electors to be Indian citizens, aged 18 or above, and ordinarily resident in the constituency.
Copies of the Draft Roll will be provided to recognised political parties free of cost and uploaded on the ECI website. Electors who miss the initial deadline can still apply during the claims and objections period using Form 6, along with a declaration form. BLAs can continue to submit up to 10 forms per day even after the Draft Roll is published.
The fifth phase, from 1st August to 1st September 2025, any member of the public can file claims and objections. During this time, the EROs/AEROs will scrutinise applications and objections in line with Article 326 and Sections 16 and 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The public can file claims for inclusion or raise objections to existing entries in the Draft Roll. No deletion will be made without due inquiry and providing the concerned person a fair hearing. Daily lists of claims and objections will be displayed at the ERO offices and published on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website. Weekly updates will also be shared with political parties. The final ER will be prepared after disposing of claims and objections.
The Final Electoral Roll will be published on the 30th September 2025. Hard and soft copies will be given free of cost to all recognised political parties and published on the ECI website. Any elector aggrieved by the decision of the ERO may appeal to the District Magistrate under Section 24(a) of the RP Act, 1950 within fifteen days of the order. A further appeal may be preferred to the Chief Electoral Officer under Section 24(b) if the elector remains dissatisfied within 30 days of the order
The Election Commission urges all eligible citizens in Bihar to participate actively in this special drive to ensure that no voter is left out.
(With inputs from ANI)
