The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially released the final voter list for the Bihar Assembly elections, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. This marks a crucial step forward as the state prepares for the upcoming polls, with the election schedule announcement expected between October 6 and 7. The assembly elections in Bihar will be conducted based on this final electoral roll.
The SIR exercise, conducted in Bihar after a gap of 22 years, has been the subject of intense political and legal debate. The ECI initiated the SIR in June 2025, requiring all 7.89 crore registered voters to resubmit their forms. The poll body undertook this revision to ensure the electoral rolls were accurate and updated by removing bogus, duplicate, and ineligible voters, including deceased individuals and "illegal immigrants".
The draft electoral rolls were published on August 1, 2025, revealing a reduction to 7.24 crore voters, with approximately 65 lakh names removed. These deletions were attributed to individuals who had died, moved away, or were listed as duplicate voters. Following the draft publication, roughly 3 lakh voters received notices. During the period for claims and objections, 2.17 lakh people applied to have their names removed, while 16.93 lakh applied for inclusion. From August 1 to September 1, over 16.56 lakh voters submitted Form-6 for new registrations.
The SIR process involved a house-to-house survey conducted from June 25 to July 25, 2025. The ECI had asked voters not included in the 2003 list to submit specific documents to prove their citizenship. According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, physical copies of the electoral roll will be available to all District Election Officers-cum-District Magistrates, and provided to recognized political parties.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar has faced criticism from opposition parties, who allege that it targets specific voter groups, particularly poor and minority voters. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the poll body of colluding with the BJP, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav has led a "Voter Adhikar Yatra" in Bihar, denouncing the SIR as a "vote theft" operation.
The matter also reached the Supreme Court, where petitioners argued that the revision process could disenfranchise a large number of voters. Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stated they would not hesitate to scrap the published list if any irregularities were found. The court has allowed Aadhaar to be used as an identity document, overruling the ECI's reservations about forgery. The next hearing is scheduled for October 7, 2025.
Citizens can check their names in the final voter list online via the Election Commission websites or through a mobile app or SMS. To search online, individuals can visit https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in">https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in or https://voters.eci.gov.in">https://voters.eci.gov.in and enter their details or EPIC number.
