Bihar draft rolls to be given to all parties: CEC

NEW DELHI: On the eve of publication of the draft electoral roll in Bihar, based on enumeration phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said physical and digital copies of the draft roll will be given to all recognised political parties by the 38 district election officers (DEOs), to check for any wrong inclusions or exclusions and seek their correction.

The draft roll will also be available online, on the EC portal and ECINet app, for public viewing. "The chief electoral officer of Bihar and 243 electoral registration officers (EROs) will be inviting any elector of that assembly constituency or any recognised political party in Bihar to come forward and make claims and objections from Aug 1 to Sept 1, 2025, for adding names of missing eligible electors, removing names of ineligible electors or correction of any entry in the draft electoral roll," he told TOI.

Sources said the roll will not only reflect exclusions based on reports of booth level officers relating to the deceased, permanently shifted and untraceable electors and those found enrolled at multiple places (totalling 65 lakh in all), but also new voters enrolling for the first time or those who have shifted to Bihar from outside the state. "Anybody who has applied through Form 6 (first-time voter) or Form 8 (shifting from outside Bihar), in the required format, and with the necessary documents, including proof of their citizenship and, where applicable, their parents' citizenship, during the enrolment phase, and his application is processed, will be on the draft roll," an EC official said.

The official added that applications for additions to the roll will be accepted till the last day of nomination for the upcoming Bihar polls. EC had earlier said it will run a special enrolment drive for new and shifted voters in Aug.