"Electoral Rolls Launch in Bihar Unaccompanied by Any Claim Filings According to Election Commission"
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar following the completion of the Enumeration Phase from June 24 to July 25, 2025. This marks the start of a one-month period during which voters and political parties can submit claims and objections for the draft electoral rolls.
In the first 24 hours after the publication of the draft electoral rolls, no political parties have filed claims or objections. According to official data from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process for Bihar's voter list updating, no claims or objections were received from political parties between 3 PM on August 1 and 3 PM on August 2.
The ECI has assured that all claims and objections submitted during the one-month period will be addressed before the final publication of the electoral rolls. The absence of party claims or objections within the first 24 hours may be due to parties’ review process rather than the absence of concerns.
All 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) have shared draft rolls of all polling booths with political parties, ensuring transparency. Though parties received the drafts and the opportunity to raise objections, initial inactivity may reflect a strategic choice or time taken to review the data thoroughly.
The draft electoral rolls cover all 243 Assembly Constituencies and 90,712 polling booths in Bihar. A total of 1.60 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from 12 political parties actively participated in the process on the ground.
Electors can verify their names on the official link -- https://voters.eci.gov.in -- using their EPIC numbers. Electors can also file claims and objections for inclusion or deletion of names through the same portal.
The ECI has taken several steps to ensure a smooth process. They have announced that they will double the remuneration for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), enhance remuneration for BLO Supervisors, and provide honorarium to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).
Furthermore, the ECI has urged all voters to submit new photographs to their Booth Level Officers (BLOs) by September 1, 2025. The ECI has also shared a detailed list of electors whose names appeared in the June 24 rolls but were missing in the new draft with political parties for cross-verification.
However, opposition parties have protested the process over fears of wrongful exclusions. Yet, no formal objections from parties had been submitted within the early timeframe. No name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason, according to the ECI.
In light of this, the ECI's efforts to ensure a fair and transparent process are commendable. The public is encouraged to actively participate in the claims and objections process to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls.
- Despite the ECI's efforts to ensure transparency by sharing draft rolls with political parties, there appears to be little activity in the realm of policy-and-legislation as initial objections or claims from parties have yet to surface in the politics surrounding Bihar's draft electoral rolls.
- Amidst concerns over potential wrongful exclusions raised by opposition parties, the ongoing general-news story of Bihar's electoral roll update reveals no formal objections from any political parties within the stipulated one-month period for submitting claims and objections, as per the special intensive revision process.
