Patna: With just over a week left in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, officials have reported that 98.2% of voter documents have already been submitted, putting the process ahead of schedule.
Between June 24 and August 24, documents from nearly 7.12 crore voters were collected at an average pace of 1.64% per day. Only 1.8% — about 12.85 lakh voters — remain, and the Election Commission expects this backlog to be cleared before the September 1 deadline through the efforts of booth-level officers (BLOs) and volunteers.
The claims and objections phase has also seen activity. Out of the total 7.24 crore voters in the draft list, 0.16% claims and objections have been lodged so far, including 10 by booth-level agents of 12 recognised political parties. More than 1.21 lakh individual voters have also filed corrections.
In addition, 3.28 lakh new voters who turned 18 by July 1 or will reach the milestone by October 1 have submitted the required forms, marking their entry into the state’s democratic process.
The Election Commission of India has praised the efforts of Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, district election officials, and the network of 90,000 BLOs, along with thousands of volunteers and party representatives, for the smooth conduct of the revision drive.
The verification of claims, objections and eligibility documents will be completed by September 25, after which the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 30.
