Poll panel urges voters to join roll revision amid oppn flak
Election Commission
on Thursday made a direct appeal to the electorate to take active part in the exercise to ensure no eligible voter is excluded.
The appeal came shortly after Independent MP from Purnia, Pappu Yadav, sparked controversy by calling for a boycott of the drive.
"I appeal to all citizens not to allow booth-level officers or any election officials into their villages since the SIR is nothing but a nautanki," Yadav wrote on social media. Urging people not to hand over any documents or details, he added, "Just serve them tea and water and see them off." His comments drew widespread backlash from netizens and sharp criticism from political parties.
Reacting strongly, the BJP described the remarks as highly inflammatory and called on the EC to act. "This is a complete violation of EC guidelines. The EC must take cognisance of his remarks and act in the matter," BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said. Calling Yadav's words dangerous for democracy, he added, "It was because of elections conducted by the same EC that he was able to become an MP."
In a press release issued later in the day, the EC stated, "The Election Commission urges all eligible citizens in Bihar to participate actively in this special drive to ensure that no voter is left out."
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Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who met representatives of various political parties at Nirvachan Sadan in Delhi on Wednesday, also appealed to parties to cooperate fully with the process. "We exhort all political parties to come forward and appoint even more booth-level agents to assist voters in enrolment and ensure the process is transparent and participative," he said.
According to the EC, enumeration forms are being printed and distributed to 7.90 crore electors in Bihar, based on records as of June 23, 2025.
A total of 77,895 booth level officers have been deployed with another 20,603 being appointed. These BLOs are delivering pre-filled forms door-to-door to all electors listed as of June 24, 2025, the date of the SIR order. The forms are to be filled and submitted by July 25, 2025 with nearly four lakh volunteers, including govt staff, NCC cadets and NSS members, assisting the elderly, sick, disabled, poor and other vulnerable voters.
The completed forms will then be collected by BLOs along with self-attested documents, and the data uploaded daily via ECINET.
The draft electoral roll will be published on Aug 1, after which people can file claims and objections. The final roll will be released on Sept 30 and both hard and digital copies will be shared free of cost with recognised political parties and published on the ECI website.
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