Bihar SIR: 98% Voters Covered As Phase 1 Nears End; Nitish's MP Slams Drive As 'Tughlaki Farman', Cong Reacts
The ECI's Bihar electoral roll revision nears completion, covering 98% of electors. Discrepancies include deceased, migrated, and duplicate voters. A JD(U) MP criticized the process, echoed by Congress.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced that the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the 24 June 2025 Bihar Electoral Roll is approaching completion. In a press note dated 23 July, the Commission stated that 98.01% of electors had been covered in the process so far. "No eligible Elector to be left out, and no ineligible person to be included," the statement read.
According to official data, around 20 lakh electors have been reported deceased, while 28 lakh individuals have permanently migrated from their registered addresses. The Commission further revealed that 7 lakh electors were found to be registered in more than one location, 1 lakh electors remain untraceable, and enumeration forms of 15 lakh voters have not been returned.
Press note by Election Commission of India reads, "First phase of SIR of the 24 June 2025 Bihar Electoral Roll nearing completion
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 23, 2025
Aim: No eligible Elector to be left out, and no ineligible person to be included." pic.twitter.com/CZFFjXLMxm
So far, 7.17 crore forms—representing 90.89% of the total—have been received and digitised. These lists, including electors with discrepancies and those who have not returned forms, were shared with 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from 12 major political parties on 20 July.
Electors Outside Bihar Can Still Participate
The Commission highlighted that has issued special provisions for voters temporarily residing outside Bihar. They can fill their forms online at https://electors.eci.gov.in, through the ECINet mobile application, or submit a physical copy of the signed form via a family member or through WhatsApp to their Booth Level Officer (BLO).
Only those who have submitted their forms will have their names included in the Draft Electoral Roll, which will be published on 1 August 2025. Voters can track the status of their form submissions on the same ECI portal, and those who provided mobile numbers have been sent confirmation SMSs.
The ECI has stated that electors or political parties can raise objections or file claims related to the Draft Electoral Roll until 1 September 2025. Concerns may include inclusion of ineligible names or absence of eligible voters from the list. Complaints must be submitted to the relevant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) of the concerned Assembly Constituency.
JD(U) MP Raise Red Flags Over Bihar SIR Exercise, Congress Backs Remarks
As the revision exercise progresses, political controversy over the drive continues. JD(U) MP from Banka, Giridhari Yadav, broke ranks with the ruling NDA to criticise the ongoing SIR process. In remarks to news agency PTI, the parliamentarian from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party urged the Election Commission to suspend the exercise for at least six months to give eligible voters sufficient time to submit the required documents and ensure ineligible names are removed.
“If the electoral roll was correct for the Lok Sabha polls, then how can it be incorrect for the Assembly elections to be held in a few months? Have I been elected on the basis of the incorrect electoral roll? It will then raise questions on the entire poll process,” Yadav told PTI. He warned that many migrant voters living outside Bihar might lose their voting rights due to the hurried process. He also clarified that his views were his own, expressed as a Lok Sabha MP, not reflective of his party’s stance.
Speaking to ANI, Giridhari Yadav termed the ECI drive a 'Tughlaki farman' and remarked, "Election Commission has no practical knowledge. It neither knows the history nor the geography of Bihar. It took 10 days for me to collect all the documents. My son stays in America. How will he do the signatures in just a month? This (SIR) has been imposed on us forcefully. At least 6 months' time should have been given for this... I am giving my personal opinion. It doesn't matter what the party is saying... This is the truth. If I can't say the truth, why have I become an MP?..."
The Congress party swiftly seized on Yadav’s remarks. General Secretary in-charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, called the Bihar SIR drive a “dubious” process. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Venugopal said, “The dubious SIR exercise in Bihar, and those planned in other states, are not merely ‘political propaganda’ by the opposition as the BJP claims. This isn’t a narrative crafted by the Congress or the Opposition. There is a genuine apprehension among voters that this is a calculated votebandi exercise designed to manipulate electoral outcomes.”
The dubious SIR exercise in Bihar, and those planned in other states, are not merely “political propaganda” by the opposition as the BJP claims. This isn’t a narrative crafted by the Congress or the Opposition.
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 23, 2025
There is a genuine apprehension among voters that this is a… https://t.co/iLwvWNABpq
He added, “When partners within the NDA themselves raise alarm, it exposes the rottenness at the core of this operation. These statements are not coincidence — they are a reflection of the scale and seriousness of this electoral fraud.” Venugopal called for “a truly independent and transparent scrutiny” and alleged that the SIR operation is essentially “a massive vote theft unfolding under the ECI’s watch.”
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