Explainer: All you need to know about Special Intensive Revision of Bihar electoral rolls

New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar has generated a lot of political heat with Opposition parties alleging irregularities, a charge denied by the Election Commission of India which has reassured the timely and smooth completion of the exercise involving nearly 7.90 crore electors.

Here is a fact sheet about the mega exercise and issues related to it:

What is SIR: Special Intensive Revision in Bihar is an exercise to update the voters’ list with July 1, 2025, as the qualifying date.

Objective: The SIR, launched on June 24, aims to add the names of eligible citizens to the voter list and weed out ineligible voters. The previous such exercise in Bihar was carried out in 2003.

Execution: About 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are visiting each household at least three times to collect the filled-up enumeration forms.

Pre-filled enumeration forms have been distributed to 7.69 crore electors (97.42 per cent).

About 4.96 crore voters -- comprising 60 per cent of the electorate, who were listed in electoral rolls before 2003, don’t have to deposit any document to establish their date or place of birth.

The rest 40 per cent of the population, comprising about 3 crore voters, will have to provide supporting documents to establish their date or place of birth.

As per ECI, submitting at least one of the 11 documents is a must for verification. Aadhaar is not part of the list.

The poll body has also relaxed the documentation process, saying that if a voter is unable to provide the necessary documents, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can make a decision on the basis of a local investigation.

A total of 239 EROs covering all 243 Assembly constituencies, 963 Assistant EROs, 38 District Election Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer are helping electors submit forms.

As many as 1,54,977 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by various political parties are also providing active support in the SIR process.

All those who submit Enumeration Forms shall be included in the draft Electoral Roll to be published on August 1.

Complaint Redressal: Any person aggrieved by the decision of the ERO may prefer an appeal to the District Magistrate, and a second appeal can be filed before the CEO.

Political parties’ concerns: Opposition parties have called a state-wide bandh on July 9 against SIR. Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said this revision of electoral rolls months ahead of the Bihar election is a "conspiracy".

Opposition leaders claim that with large chunks of the state hit by floods, it is difficult for many voters to provide documentary evidence related to birth.

They also flag stringent documentation requirements and a tight July 25 deadline, which risks disenfranchising millions, particularly marginalised communities like Muslims, Dalits and migrant workers.

Legal battle: The SIR has been challenged in the Supreme Court by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), rights body People's Union for Civil Liberties, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and former MLA Mujahid Alam. While agreeing to take up the matter, the apex court refused to impose an interim stay on the exercise.

ECI update on SIR: The exercise is progressing smoothly. By July 7, the ECI received 2.87 crore enumeration forms -- 36.47 per cent of the total of nearly 7.90 crore electors in Bihar enrolled as on June 24.

The partially filled forms are also available for download on the ECI portal (https://voters.eci.gov.in) as well as on the ECINET App, and the filled forms can be uploaded by the elector themselves on the ECINET App.

--IANS

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