Bihar SIR: People from Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar found during drive; will not be included in final voter list, says Election Commission
Bihar Special Intensive Revision: Over 74% electors submit enumeration forms, says Election Commission of India
The Bihar SIR began on June 25 and the last date for submitting Enumeration Forms given by Booth Level Officers to voters is July 25, following which a draft list would be brought out on August 1. The ECI has given a list of 11 documents to be submitted as proofs along with the forms which does not include Aadhaar, EPIC or Ration Cards. However, the poll body has said that the documentary proofs can be submitted even during the claims period following the publication of the draft Electoral Rolls.
On July 10, hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the Bihar SIR, the Supreme Court had urged the ECI to consider Aadhaar, EPIC cards and Ration Cards as documentary proofs as well. The case is listed to be heard again on July 28, days before the scheduled publication of the draft voters list on August 1.
On Sunday (July 13, 2025), the ECI sources said that during the house-to-house visits during SIR in Bihar, a large number of people from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have been found by BLOs. 'Their names shall not be included in the final list to be published on September 30, 2025 after proper enquiry is conducted after August 1, 2025,' sources said.
Also Read: Careful curation | On Bihar's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
The ECI had said on Saturday (July 12, 2025) that having completed 100% printing and near completion of distribution of EFs to all electors who were found at their addresses, as of 6 p.m. on Saturday (July 12, 2025) collection crossed 6,32,59,497 or 80.11%. 'Which means four out of every five electors in Bihar has submitted the EF,' it said.
Field-level teams including 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across all 243 Assembly Constituencies, and 963 Assistant EROs (AEROs) are being closely monitored by the CEO for this purpose.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
EC: Not legally bound to disclose omitted names in Bihar SIR
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that it is under no legal obligation to prepare or publish a separate list of nearly 6.5 million names not included in Bihar's draft electoral rolls, or to disclose reasons for their non-inclusion. The ECI's affidavit came in reply to allegations by ADR that 65 lakh names had been deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without transparency and without disclosure of whether the deletions related to deceased persons, migrants or other categories. (HT File) In its latest affidavit on the contentious special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar ahead of assembly polls later this year, the Commission emphasised that the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, only require publication of the draft roll and provision for claims and objections, and not any parallel deletion list. ECI argued that non-inclusion in a draft roll is not the same as deletion from the electoral roll. The draft is a work-in-progress document, it said, and names may not appear for a variety of reasons, such as unreturned enumeration forms, or errors detected during house-to-house verification, but these names remain open to restoration through the claims process before final publication. 'The draft roll simply shows that the duly filled enumeration form of existing electors has been received during the enumeration phase,' stated the affidavit, adding individuals missing from the draft can file Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration to claim inclusion during the claims and objections period from August 1 to September 1, 2025. Contesting allegations by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that the omissions amounted to mass deletions without transparency, the poll body also accused the NGO of making 'patently false and erroneous assertions' and attempting to mislead the court. The ECI's affidavit came in reply to allegations by ADR that 65 lakh names had been deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without transparency and without disclosure of whether the deletions related to deceased persons, migrants or other categories. The petitioners alleged that political parties had not been given full access to the draft lists, and that in many cases, booth-level officers (BLOs) included or excluded names without proper verification of the 11 documents prescribed by ECI. On August 6, a bench led by Justice Surya Kant directed ECI to file a 'comprehensive reply' to the ADR's plea. The matter will be heard next on August 12. In its Saturday night filing, the Commission said ADR's demand for a public list of those not in the draft rolls, along with reasons for each omission, was legally unfounded. Rules 10 and 11 of the RER, it pointed out, only require that draft rolls be made available for public inspection in the relevant areas and supplied to recognised political parties. 'As neither the law nor guidelines provide for preparation or sharing of any such list of previous electors whose enumeration form is not received… no such list can be sought by the petitioner as a matter of right,' the affidavit said. ECI stressed that any individual omitted from the draft roll has a clear statutory route to inclusion, and that the reasons for non-inclusion, whether death, permanent migration or being untraceable, do not alter the remedy available. Providing reasons, therefore, 'serves no practical purpose' at the draft stage, it argued. Moreover, under Rule 19 of RER, the electoral registration officer (ERO) is bound to issue a hearing notice in each case where inclusion is objected to, at which stage reasons will be furnished. Rejecting ADR's claim that voters cannot verify their status without the reasons for exclusion, ECI said every elector with an EPIC card can check the status of their enumeration form online by entering their EPIC number. This facility also provides the contact details of the relevant booth-level officer (BLO) for follow-up. The affidavit detailed steps taken before the draft rolls were published on August 1 to reach voters whose enumeration forms had not been received. Booth-level lists of such individuals were shared with recognised political parties through their district presidents and booth-level agents (BLAs), meetings were held across all districts, and the lists were also acknowledged by parties, including the CPI(M-L). Further, on August 7, BLOs again convened polling station-level meetings to share these lists and seek assistance in contacting such voters. ECI said these measures were publicised in a July 27 press note, which was served on ADR during the previous hearing, making its claim of non-disclosure 'blatantly false'. The Commission also dismissed as 'misconceived' ADR's allegation that it had departed from the past practice of publishing deleted names, clarifying that the example cited by the NGO was a final electoral roll from April 2024, not a draft. 'The final roll, which will be published after the present SIR exercise… will contain all such information,' it said. Addressing ADR's concern over a 'huge percentage of electors marked 'not recommended'' by BLOs, ECI said the recommendation mechanism was purely administrative, intended to minimise inadvertent errors, and carried no bearing on eligibility. Inputs from BLOs are 'suggestive rather than conclusive' and subject to verification by the ERO and Assistant ERO, it added. No deletion, ECI stressed, can occur without giving the voter a hearing and a reasoned order. Accusing ADR of a 'consistent attempt to malign the ECI by building false narratives on digital, print and social media', the affidavit urged the Supreme Court to impose 'heavy costs' and initiate contempt proceedings against the NGO for trying to mislead the court. Meanwhile, the controversy has drawn sharp political lines. On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Opposition of opposing the revision because 'names of infiltrators' were being struck off. 'Infiltrators have no right to vote… The RJD and Congress are opposing SIR because these names are being deleted,' he told a rally in Sitamarhi. The Opposition INDIA bloc has alleged that the process is designed to disenfranchise marginalised communities ahead of the Bihar polls and could set a precedent for similar purges nationwide. The Opposition INDIA bloc said the deleted electors should be mentioned separately for 'public scrutiny.' The leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, said on Sunday in a press conference that ECI should release the list of names deleted on specific grounds for 'public scrutiny' and also wondered whether the deletions on account of death were supported by any documentary evidence. The NDA said that the ECI was doing its job right and that the Opposition parties were unnecessarily making hullabaloo over nothing. As reported by HT on August 10, ECI, in a separate affidavit, assured the Supreme Court that no eligible voter in Bihar would be struck off the rolls without prior notice, a hearing, and a reasoned order. The poll body stressed that 'strict directions' had been issued to prevent wrongful deletions and highlighted a ten-point inclusion plan involving door-to-door verification, party agents, urban camps, migrant outreach, and special assistance to vulnerable voters.
India Today
39 minutes ago
- India Today
Delhi Police: No nod for INDIA Bloc's ‘Vote Chori' march to Election Commission
The Delhi Police on Sunday claimed that the INDIA Bloc has not sought permission to hold a march to the Election Commission of India headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, August to sources within the Delhi Police, no application had been received till Sunday from the INDIA Bloc for the protest march scheduled for of Parliament from the opposition INDIA Bloc will march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and alleged election The MPs will be led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has demamded that the election commission release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them. "Vote Chori is an attack on the foundational idea of 'one man, one vote'. A clean voter roll is imperative for free and fair elections. Our demand from the EC is clear - be transparent and release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them," tweeted Rahul Gandhi. The Congress has also launched an online campaign against the alleged 'vote chori'. Sharing the link to portal and a phone number, the Congress leader has urged people to register themselves with the initiative. "This fight is to protect our democracy," wrote Gandhi. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has written to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, asking him to submit documents supporting his allegation that a voter cast her ballot twice in last year's Lok Sabha the letter, the CEO referred to Gandhi's recent press conference, where he claimed that certain documents in his presentation were 'EC data' and alleged that voter Shakun Rani had voted twice based on records 'given by the polling officer.' The letter mentioned Rahul Gandhi saying, 'Es ID card par do baar vote laga hai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer ki hai. (This ID has been used to vote twice, the tick marks were made by polling booth officer)'.'You are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed enquiry can be conducted,' the letter GANDHI'S ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE ELECTION COMMISSIONIn a sharp attack on the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi recently accused the poll body of colluding with the BJP to 'steal elections' in the country. Addressing the press, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that fake names were being added to voter lists and presented electoral rolls from Karnataka's Mahadevapura assembly segment in Bangalore Central as there was 'bhayankar chori' (massive theft) of votes, Rahul Gandhi alleged that out of 6.5 lakh votes in the constituency, over one lakh were fraudulent. According to him, Congress's internal research found 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 with fake or invalid addresses, 10,452 'bulk voters' using the same address, and 4,132 with invalid photos. He further claimed that 33,692 voters had misused Form 6 meant for new registrations. - EndsMust Watch
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Act against officials over voter list discrepancies: Akhilesh to EC
After Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi raised concerns over alleged fake voters and irregularities in electoral rolls, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has also questioned the role of administrative officials in elections. He has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take stern action against district officials in Uttar Pradesh where discrepancies were reported during recent bypolls. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. (File Photo) The Kannauj MP, who was at a hotel in Gomti Nagar here to attend a private function on Sunday, said: 'The issue of fake voters is serious. The Election Commission and the government should have taken measures to prevent irregularities. The BJP is adept at manufacturing fake voters and deleting genuine ones, but they have run out of tricks, and that's why irregularities are being caught.' He alleged that the EC ignored complaints during the bypolls. 'If the DMs of these districts are terminated, no discrepancies will be seen in the voter list. Until the EC suspends or removes such officers, it won't be able to stop the forgery,' he said. Commenting on allegations that Bihar deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha possesses two EPIC numbers, Akhilesh said, 'If the deputy CM of Bihar has two voter IDs, a booth in UP was looted at the behest of the chief minister. Can anyone imagine that?' He also claimed that education department officers posted in Ayodhya assigned duties to others, and that in Meerapur and Kundarki, DMs and police chiefs actively prevented people from voting. 'We all saw the video of a police officer with a pistol warning a woman against leaving her house. Was the EC sleeping then? That's why we presented a white cloth to the EC,' he said. Akhilesh further stated he would request the EC and the government to prevent such officials from 'becoming criminals'. 'When officers become criminals, who will act against them?' he asked. On the monsoon session of the UP assembly, commencing Monday and featuring a special 24-hour sitting, Akhilesh said, 'Why call a session for even three days? They should finish it in three hours. I am against the 24-hour session. The government hasn't worked in the last nine years, but now they want to keep people awake for nothing. School mergers, floods, inflation, farmers' woes and injustice will be our main issues in the assembly session.'
