Patna: A sweeping voter verification drive in Bihar has revealed major irregularities in the electoral roll, with the names of over 52 lakh voters potentially set for deletion. The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 has uncovered that 7.5 lakh individuals are registered at more than one location, and 18.66 lakh voters have died but remain on the list.
In total, 52,30,126 voters could be removed from the electoral roll after being found absent from their listed addresses. Of these, 26.01 lakh have permanently relocated, 18.66 lakh are deceased, and 7.5 lakh appear to hold voter ID cards in multiple constituencies. An additional 11,484 cases remain unverified.
These discrepancies account for 6.62% of Bihar’s 7.68 crore registered voters. To address the issue, the Commission will launch a special door-to-door campaign from August 1 to September 1, allowing citizens to verify, add, delete, or correct their entries in the voter list. Voters can participate through the Commission’s website, their local Booth Level Officer (BLO), or designated offices.
Political parties have been drawn into the effort, with district presidents involved alongside 1 lakh BLOs, 4 lakh volunteers, and 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) working across the state.
As of June 24, 2025, 97.3% of voters—amounting to 7.68 crore individuals—have already been verified. However, verification for 21.35 lakh voters (2.7%) remains incomplete. The deadline for submitting the verification form (Form 1) has been extended to July 26.
In a bid to raise awareness, mobile information vans were deployed across Patna this week, distributing forms and assisting citizens. The Election Department has urged all voters to complete their verification and contact the 1950 helpline for support.
