Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 28: With only four days remaining before the deadline to submit claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revealed that while nearly two lakh individual applications have been received, political party engagement remains minimal.
Since the claims and objections window opened on August 1, a total of 1,95,802 applications from voters seeking inclusion or deletion have been filed. However, only 82 formal objections have been submitted by political parties — all from the CPI(ML) Liberation (79) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (3), the ECI said in a statement on Thursday.
Despite repeated reminders, the Commission noted that other parties have shown little to no active involvement in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, which aims to update the state’s electoral rolls ahead of upcoming elections.
So far, 24,991 voter applications have already been reviewed and addressed by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). As per ECI rules, objections must be processed only after a fair hearing, due notice, and proper verification — including a speaking order issued by the ERO or Assistant ERO in case of deletions.
The SIR process, launched on June 24, is based on on-ground surveys and enumeration conducted by booth-level officers (BLOs) and agents (BLAs) of political parties. The draft electoral rolls were published on August 1, and all 12 recognised parties in Bihar were provided copies for review.
Since the start of the revision process, 8.5 lakh newly eligible voters (those who turned 18 after the SIR began) have applied to be added to the rolls. Of these, 37,050 applications have been reviewed so far.
The Commission also confirmed that names excluded from the rolls have been listed publicly, along with reasons, on the official websites of District Election Officers (DEOs), District Magistrates (DMs), and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), searchable by EPIC number.
The ECI urged individuals who find their names missing to submit claims along with Aadhaar details before the September 1 deadline.
Despite a month-long window and over 1.6 lakh BLAs across Bihar, only three major parties — RJD (47,506 agents), Congress (17,549), and Left parties (over 2,000) — have actively participated in the review process, accounting for more than 67,000 booth-level agents in total.
The ECI reiterated the importance of political party involvement to ensure accuracy and transparency in the electoral process.