(PTI file photo)
New Delhi: The Election Commission in Bihar on Friday announced that 99.8 percent of the voters in the state have been covered under the ongoing special amendment (SIR) exercise.According to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), forms of over 7.23 crore voters have been obtained and digitized. His names will be published on August 1, 2025. The remaining forms and reports of booth level officers (BLOS) are also expected to be completed by that date.As part of the cleaning of voter lists, 2.2 million names have been marked as deceased, 7 lakh voters were found registered at more than one location, and about 35 million people were either unattainable or permanently gone. About 1.2 lakh forms are still waiting.On July 20, the voters who have died have migrated, or the form have not been submitted, they were shared with 12 political parties, including BJP, Congress, RJD, JD (U), AAP, CPM and others, so that they can investigate any objections before finalizing the draft role.This massive amendment is being done with the help of over 77,000 blossoms, about 3,000 assistant officers and more than 1.6 lakh booth level agents (BLAS), which represent all major parties.However, this process has faced criticism from opposition parties. Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi alleged that there were irregularities in the amendment exercise in Pol-Bound Bihar. He said, “The Election Commission is not working as the Election Commission of India. Today he made some statements. It is completely nonsense.”Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanash Kumar strongly responded to criticism. He said, “Should we flow from these attacks and be allowed to be cast in the name of the deceased, permanently shifted, nominated at two or more places or illegal foreign immigrants? First in the state and then in the country?”According to the SIR guidelines, from 1 August to 1 September, any voter or political party can file requests to include eligible voters who can be abandoned or raised objections against disqualified entries in the list or increase objections.
