Bihar SIR: Over 1.95 lakh application filed for changes; 25,000 settled

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced that it has received more than 1.95 lakh applications from individuals requesting either the inclusion or exclusion of names from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls. Of these, nearly 25,000 have already been addressed, ti said.

Among the submissions, 79 were filed by the CPI(ML)-Liberation and three by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Both parties are recognised as state-level political entities in Bihar.

As the process of filing claims and objections enters its final four days, no national party — including the BJP or Congress — has submitted any such applications.

The Commission did not break down how many of the total 1,95,802 requests pertained specifically to inclusion or exclusion under the 'claims and objections' category.

An unnamed official was quoted in media reports as saying, "The claims and objections filed are negligible as compared to over 60 lakh names removed from the draft list due to various reasons."

According to the poll body, as of Monday, documentation has been received for 99.11 per cent of the 7.24 crore electors listed in the draft roll.

The draft voter list was released on 1 August as part of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.

In a statement issued on Sunday, 24 August, the ECI highlighted that the claims and objections window provides citizens with a chance to correct any errors in the draft rolls and to submit any documents they may have omitted while filling out their enumeration forms.

Between 24 June and 24 August, the Commission reported that 98.2 per cent of electors submitted their documentation within the 60-day window.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has instructed the Commission to accept Aadhaar cards or any one of 11 approved identification documents from those seeking to be added to the electoral register.

The ECI, in turn, has appealed to the Court to place its trust in the Commission’s handling of the SIR process in Bihar ahead of the upcoming elections.