Following a Supreme Court directive, the Election Commission (EC) has announced that individuals whose names are missing from Bihar's draft voter list can submit a copy of their Aadhaar card to ensure their inclusion in the electoral roll. This decision comes after the Supreme Court instructed the poll authority to accept Aadhaar as a valid form of identification.
The EC has clarified the process for addressing claims and objections related to the draft roll. According to established rules, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) must resolve all claims and objections no sooner than seven days after verifying the eligibility documents.
Furthermore, the EC emphasized that under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders, no name can be removed from the draft list, which was published on August 1, without a speaking order issued by the ERO. This order can only be issued after conducting a thorough inquiry and providing the concerned individual with a fair and reasonable opportunity to be heard.
The Election Commission has made the list of approximately 6.5 million individuals excluded from the draft list publicly available on the websites of the District Magistrates of Bihar. Those who find their names missing can submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar card.
The Election Commission has announced that individuals omitted from Bihar's draft electoral roll, published on August 1, 2025, can submit Form 6 with their Aadhaar card copy by September 1. Objections to ineligible inclusions can be filed in Form 7 by electors of the same constituency.
Booth level agents of political parties can also submit claims (collected from aggrieved electors) in Form 6 and file objections in Form 7, along with the prescribed declaration to the booth level officer. This declaration confirms that the information provided is based on proper verification of the draft electoral roll shared with them and that they are aware of potential penal action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, for any false declarations.
In its recent update regarding the claims and objections filed on the Bihar draft roll, the EC revealed that while no claims or objections have been received from party Booth Level Agents (BLAs), 45,616 electors have directly filed claims and objections, with 1,348 of these already processed. Additionally, over 150,000 forms have been received from new electors, including six submitted through BLAs.