Bihar Launches Intensive Voter List Drive with Historic Administrative Shake-Up

Patna: In a sweeping move to strengthen electoral participation, the Election Commission of India has launched an intensive voter list revision campaign in Bihar, enlisting an unprecedented administrative force to ensure every eligible citizen is counted. For the first time, 18 municipal commissioners across the state have been appointed as Additional District Election Officers (ADEOs), a responsibility traditionally reserved for District Magistrates.

This landmark initiative marks a significant shift in Bihar’s electoral preparations, with officials calling it more than a bureaucratic exercise — a “democratic Maha Yagya” involving thousands of government officers at every level. From Block Supply Officers to representatives from agriculture, child development, Panchayati Raj, statistics, and labour enforcement departments, all have been deployed as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), charged with verifying and updating the state’s voter database.

In some constituencies, the mobilisation is extensive. Wazirganj, for example, has seen the appointment of 24 AEROs alone — part of what officials describe as a campaign being run “on a war footing.” Across the state, the number of AEROs in each assembly segment ranges from two to more than twenty.

Out of the total 7.90 crore voter registration forms in circulation, 3.70 crore have already been filled and submitted — a turnout of 46.95% so far. The Election Commission reports that 97% of forms have been distributed across households within just two weeks of the campaign’s launch, and 18.16% of the forms have already been uploaded online.

With only 17 days remaining in the drive, efforts have intensified. In the past 24 hours alone, more than 82.78 lakh forms were submitted — a testament, officials say, to growing public engagement and trust in the process.

“This isn’t merely a voter list revision,” said a senior election official. “It’s a reaffirmation of our democratic identity. Every officer involved understands that each verified voter adds strength to the legitimacy of future governance.”