EC Releases Bihar Draft Voter List Post-SIR Amid Intensifying Opposition Protests

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. This move marks the start of the "claims and objections" phase, which will remain open until September 1. During this period, voters can report wrongful deletions or other discrepancies to election officials for correction.

The ECI confirmed that the revision covered all 243 assembly constituencies and included data from 90,817 polling stations. The updated rolls were formally shared with political parties by all 38 District Collectors across Bihar at 11 a.m. on August 1.

In an official statement, the Commission announced, "Draft Electoral Rolls for Bihar, covering each of the 243 assembly constituencies and 90,817 polling stations, are being shared with all political parties by the 38 District Collectors at 11 AM today, i.e., 1 August 2025." The draft rolls were made available online at https://voters.eci.gov.in/download at 3 p.m.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated that both physical and digital copies of the draft rolls would be distributed to all recognised political parties across Bihar's 38 districts by their respective District Election Officers (DEOs).

The SIR process, which precedes the upcoming Bihar assembly elections expected in October-November 2025, has triggered widespread political backlash. Opposition leaders, including Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, have accused the Election Commission of conducting the revision under political pressure and have demanded a detailed debate in Parliament.

On Friday, opposition protests intensified on Parliament premises. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined fellow MPs under the INDIA bloc banner, holding signs reading "SIR: war on democracy." A cartoon shared online further fuelled the criticism - depicting a shackled figure labelled "EC" holding an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), with a speech bubble saying "YES SIR," echoing allegations of undue influence from the central government.

A day earlier, opposition parties under the INDIA bloc had resolved to ramp up their protests against the SIR exercise, both inside and outside Parliament. Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi also participated in the protest at Parliament's Makar Dwar, standing alongside Priyanka Gandhi with a placard stating "SIR-attack on Democracy."

According to the ECI, Bihar had a total of 7.93 crore registered voters before the SIR began in late July. As part of the revision process, voters received enumeration forms via booth-level officers (BLOs) or political party-appointed booth-level agents (BLAs). These forms were to be completed and returned with supporting identity documents. An online submission option was also made available for voter convenience.

Despite the ECI's formal procedures, opposition parties remain concerned about potential mass deletions of voter names and have vowed to continue challenging the SIR exercise through all democratic means.