Patna: As political battle picks pace ahead of the assembly polls in Bihar, a fresh war of tug has erupted between the leaders of NDA and the Mahagathbandhan parties after the announcement of phase 2 of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Hours after the announcement, JDU MP Sanjay Jha on October 28 took a veiled dig at Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar.
The JDU MP accuses the Congress leader for engaging in politics in the name of the SIR exercise and questioned his absence since the conclusion of the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar.
“Such a large procession was held in Bihar regarding SIR. The leader who led the procession has been missing for two months. No one knows where he is. He had nothing to do with Bihar. He simply played politics and left,” said Jha.
Jha further said that the SIR is no longer an issue in the Bihar Assembly elections, as no one is even discussing it.
“SIR is not an issue in the Bihar elections. Now no one is even discussing it… Only those who have been conducting bogus polling have a problem with SIR,” the JD(U) Working President told ANI.
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | On phase 2 of SIR in 12 States/UTs, JDU MP Sanjay Jha says, "Such a large procession was held in Bihar regarding SIR. The leader who led the procession has been missing for two months. No one knows where he is. He had nothing to do with Bihar. He simply… pic.twitter.com/l5qCv3Mntd
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2025
Jha’s attack arrived on the heels of ECI announcing the second phase of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories commencing from November 4 with the final voter list to be published on February 7, 2026.
Notably, the first phase of the SIR was conducted in Bihar in August-September this year. The ECI’s exercise to overhaul the electoral list in the poll-bound state however attracted strong opposition from the INDIA block leaders with LoP Rahul Gandhi taking out a 16-day-long ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from August 17 to September 1.
The said Yatra was launched in protest of the alleged “vote theft” and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
The Congress MP, though after conclusion of the Yatra in September is yet to return to the poll-bound state which is in midst of a fiery election campaign with leaders from both the NDA and Mahagathbandhan have already began their respective campaigns.
This comes amidst reports of discomfort over seat-sharing arrangements within the alliance and alleged friendly fights on a number of seats. As per reports, the Congress MP however could hold a joint rally in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on October 29, almost two months after he last visited the state.
Meanwhile Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday raised fingers on the second phase of SIR exercise. “The SIR that happened in Bihar turned Bihar into a laboratory for the murder of democracy, and now the same is being repeated in 12 states,” he said.
Khera claimed that the poll panel has lost its credibility due to voter revision drive in Bihar.
“The Election Commission has already lost its credibility due to Bihar’s SIR. The Commission should make public the guidelines for the SIR it conducted in 2003 and follow them. Otherwise, the Election Commission has been severely tarnished,” claimed Khera.
Second phase of SIR
ECI has announced to conduct the second phase of SIR across 12 states and UTs. The exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
According to poll body, the ‘Enumeration Phase’ will commence from November 4, following completion of printing and training and conclude on December 4.
The Commission will roll out the draft electoral rolls on December 9, allowing a one-month window to file claims and objection from December 9 to January 8, 2026 before publishing the final electoral rolls on February 7, 2026.
