Despite the Election Commission of India (ECI) reporting that no claims or objections have been filed by Booth Level Agents (BLA) in Bihar regarding the draft electoral list, a significant number of applications have been received from individual voters. The ECI data indicates that zero claims have been filed by over 1.6 lakh BLAs appointed by political parties, while 43,123 Form 6 applications (for first-time voter registrations) and 7,252 claims have been submitted by individual voters. However, political workers claim they have filed many complaints regarding errors in the electoral lists.
The apparent discrepancy between the ECI's records and the claims of political workers on the ground has raised concerns. Opposition party BLAs claim they have filed multiple complaints on plain paper, counter-signed by poll officials. They allege that the ECI is pushing those whose names have been deleted from the draft rolls to instead fill out Form 6, which is intended for new voters. CPI (ML) also stated that their complaints are not being recorded in the ECI's daily bulletins, and that people whose names have been deleted are being forced to fill Form 6 to restore their names.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar stated that 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLA) prepared the draft voter list in Bihar. He noted that voters have submitted a total of 28,370 claims and objections. Kumar emphasized that the objective behind sharing the electoral roll with political parties and candidates was to address any issues in a timely manner. He also mentioned that since political parties and their BLAs did not submit any "claim or objection," it seemed they were not examining the electoral rolls.
The ECI has been actively engaging with political parties to participate in the revision exercise and report any instances of disenfranchisement. The ECI stated that not a single claim or objection has been submitted by any political party. According to data released on August 11, 127 claims and objections out of 10,570 received directly from electors concerning Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar have been addressed by officials.
Following the SIR, approximately 65 lakh voters were found to be missing from the draft electoral rolls published on August 1. This includes 22 lakh deceased electors (2.83%), 36 lakh (4.59%) who had permanently shifted or were not found, and seven lakh (0.89%) who had enrolled in multiple places, according to ECI data.
Some party leaders have said that BLAs are submitting claims and objections about the entries in the draft rolls, but not in the format prescribed in the rules and are not being guided properly by election officials or volunteers appointed by the Election Commission. They also claim that the EC not providing a list of deleted names with reasons for the deletion is making the exercise cumbersome. N Sai Balaji of CPI(ML)L stated that officials receiving complaints are not guiding voters and BLAs to apply in the prescribed format and that the volunteers assigned to BLAs are also not helpful.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar has responded to allegations of "vote chori" (theft) by asserting that anyone making such claims must submit proof under oath within seven days, or their claims will be considered baseless. He stated that the Election Commission and the voters are not concerned by these allegations. Kumar also assured that the officials of the Election Commission of India are working towards making Special Intensive Revision in Bihar a success.
