Patna: Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll is underway, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) confirming that over 1.69 crore counting forms have been submitted as of Sunday, accounting for 21.46% of the state’s estimated 7.9 crore voters. In the past 24 hours alone, more than 65 lakh forms were collected.
With the deadline for submission set for July 25, officials say 19 days remain for eligible voters to complete the process. So far, just over 7% of the forms have been uploaded to the ECI’s digital portal.
According to the Commission, the initial phase of the revision—which includes printing and distributing the counting forms—has been completed. The draft electoral roll, scheduled for release on August 1, will only include those whose forms have been received by the deadline.
Voters will have an opportunity to correct or complete their documentation after the draft list is published. During the claim and objection period, returning officers will be empowered to reach out to individuals whose documents are incomplete, the Commission said in a statement.
The clarification follows public concern sparked by a newspaper advertisement regarding required documentation. The Commission emphasised that voters who have already submitted their forms will still be given time to furnish missing documents.
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has challenged the SIR process in the Supreme Court. In a 180-page petition, RJD’s chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Manoj Jha called for an immediate stay on the revision, arguing that the timeline is too short and that many citizens lack the documents currently required.
He also objected to the exclusion of commonly held identity cards such as Aadhaar, ration cards and MNREGA job cards from the accepted list. Citing Article 32 of the Constitution, the RJD has urged the court to intervene before the process continues further. Both the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar and the Election Commission of India have been named as respondents in the case.
