Bihar voter list revision: How newspaper advertisement caused confusion, forced EC to clarify

Election Commission

A day after endless rounds of claims and counter-claims added to the confusion among Bihar's electorate and provided momentary respite for the Opposition, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday cleared the air once and for all saying that the SIR was being conducted as per its June 24 order announcing the exercise and “there is no change in the instructions”.

The poll panel issued the clarification after the office of the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) published an advertisement in local newspapers earlier on Sunday saying voters can get verified in the electoral rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar even without submitting the mandatory documents. If the documents are not given, the Electoral Registrar Officer will carry out verification based on investigation at the local level.

In a major decision following scathing criticism by opposition parties, the Election Commission has said voters can get verified in the electoral rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar even without submitting the mandatory documents. If the documents are not given, the Electoral Registrar Officer will carry out verification based on investigation at the local level.

What caused the confusion over verification process?

In a poster on the enumeration forms, the office of the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) published an advertisement saying Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can take a decision on verification for the rolls even without the documents being submitted. "If the necessary documents and photo are not available, then just fill the enumeration form and provide it to the Booth Level Officer," the poster says. It added, crucially, that, "If you are unable to provide the necessary documents, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can take a decision on the basis of local investigation or evidence of other documents."

The ad carried the CEO’s “appeal” to electors and was published in Hindi. One of the pointers in the advertisement read, “Yadi avyashak dastavez tatha photo uplabdh nahi ho to sirf ganana prapatra bhar kar BLO ko uplabdh karaa de. (Translation: If you do not have requisite documents, then provide the enumeration forms to the BLOs).”

EC’s clarification

The Election Commission in its clarification said that the SIR is being carried out according to the guidelines issued on June 24, 2025, and there has been no change in those rules. The draft electoral rolls, to be published on August 1, 2025, will include the names of people who have submitted their enumeration forms. Voters can submit their supporting documents any time before July 25. If any documents are missing after the draft rolls are published, the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) can collect the required papers from those voters during the Claims and Objections period, which will run from August 1 to September 1.

Additionally, the EC said electoral registration officers can rely on field inquiry or alternative proof - beyond the 11 documents listed by EC for citizenship- to decide on an elector's inclusion.

What is at the heart of EC's SIR?

At the heart of the Election Commission’s special revision of rolls in Bihar is its instruction on June 24 that any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 Electoral Rolls — an estimated 2.93 crore — needs to submit at least one of 11 documents establishing eligibility to vote. Two EC statements, issued on June 24 and June 30, cite the reasons behind the revision: “inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants,” “frequent migration,” young citizens becoming eligible to vote and non-reporting of deaths.

Opposition's main concern

The SIR exercise, which is being carried out months ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, has been criticised by the opposition, which has said crores of voters risk being left out and even termed the exercise a "conspiracy" to ensure the BJP wins. One of the key sticking points for the opposition is the fact that the Election Commission (EC) made submitting at least one of 11 documents a must for verification.