Bihar ‘SIR’ Update: Parties Raise No Objections as 54,000 New Voters Submit Enrollment Forms

On Monday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared that no political parties, including the Opposition-led RJD, have complained or objected to the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, which were released on August 1.

The Commission further relayed that over 10,000 individual voters have personally filed objections with the panel. Over 50,000 new voters—who are those who have just become 18 years old—have also applied to get voter IDs to cast their ballots.

These figures were released this morning in the ECI’s routine bulletin concerning the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process—an issue that has sparked political tensions in Bihar ahead of the upcoming elections and has disrupted Parliamentary sessions since the Monsoon Session began on July 21.

This update is particularly significant because it highlights a ‘zero resistance’ stance from the Opposition toward the ECI’s SIR initiative following the publication of the draft rolls. This contrasts with earlier claims from several opposition parties that accused the poll body of manipulating the electoral rolls to favor the ruling party.

The ECI explained that any objections or claims shall be dealt by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant ERO (AERO) subsequent to a seven-day period after ascertaining eligibility documents.

"According to SIR directions, no name shall be struck off the published draft list of 1st August 2025 without the sanction of a speaking order from the ERO/AERO after making an enquiry and after affording a reasonable and fair opportunity," the Commission said.

The EC had published the draft electoral rolls on August 1, giving the electorate and parties one month to file complaints or grievances on the inclusion or exclusion of names.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has 47,506 booth-level agents (BLAs), the Congress has 17,549, and the Left parties have more than 2,000 together, and it is a total of more than 67,000 agents who have taken part in the exercise.

The SIR enumeration phase took place between June 24 and July 25, when more than 7.24 crore electors, out of a total of 7.89 crore, deposited their forms during the exercise.