Bihar SIR: Political Parties File Over 1.6 Lakh Objections

• Political parties in Bihar have filed over 1.6 lakh claims and objections against the new draft voter rolls.
• The BJP filed the most objections with 53,338, followed by the RJD and JDU.
• The SIR process is controversial due to the exclusion of over 65 lakh names from the previous voter list.

GG News Bureau
Patna, 3rd Aug: Political parties in Bihar have filed over 1.6 lakh claims and objections regarding the state’s newly published draft electoral rolls, a move that highlights the ongoing controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 exercise. According to a daily bulletin from the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a total of 1,60,813 claims were received from various parties between August 1 and August 3.

The data reveals significant participation from the state’s major political players. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed the highest number of objections with 53,338, followed closely by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with 47,506, and the Janata Dal (United) with 36,550.

The claims and objections period was initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after the publication of the draft rolls, which excluded over 65 lakh names from the previous list. The Opposition’s INDIA bloc has vehemently criticized the exercise as a “deletion campaign” designed to disenfranchise voters ahead of the assembly elections later this year. They have raised concerns over the large number of names marked as deceased or untraceable.

The ECI, in its defense, has maintained that the SIR is a necessary process to cleanse the electoral rolls of duplicate, deceased, and shifted voters. The commission has assured that no name will be deleted from the draft list without a proper inquiry and an opportunity for the elector to be heard.

Apart from the political parties, the bulletin also noted that 941 claims were received directly from individual electors. Additionally, 4,374 forms were submitted by new electors who have recently turned 18 years of age. As per the rules, all claims and objections will be disposed of by the concerned officials after a period of seven days.