According to an official statement dated July 7, the SIR in Bihar is being executed in compliance with the Election Commission of India’s order of June 24, 2025. As per the instructions, draft electoral rolls will be issued on August 1, 2025, and include the names of everyone who submitted enumeration forms.
On Saturday, the ECI said that 80.11% of electors in Bihar have submitted their forms. “With 77,895 BLOs, an additional 20,603 newly appointed BLOs on the ground, ECI is moving ahead to complete the collection of Enumeration Forms (EFs) well before the stipulated time of 25th July 2025. Field-level teams, including 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across all 243 Assembly Constituencies, and 963 Assistant EROs (AEROs) are being closely monitored by the CEO for this purpose,” it said.
People from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar found with Aadhaar, domicile, and ration cards
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) discovered a large number of individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar with Aadhaar cards, domicile certificates, and ration cards during door-to-door visits conducted as part of the SIR, ANI reported.
Bihar SIR is causing chaos
Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai said that the SIR of the voter list was causing chaos. Speaking with ANI, he said, “The Bihar elections are approaching, and the Election Commission has made a decision in haste. Whatever work is to be done, it should be done with proper preparation. I feel that this decision was taken in a hurry. This is causing chaos, and people are quite worried and troubled.”
EC has become Dhritarashtra
Pappu Yadav, an independent MP from the Purnia Lok Sabha constituency, also criticised the ECI and called it ‘Dhritrashtra’ over their decision. “The Election Commission has already become ‘Dhritarashtra’. They are neither following the Supreme Court’s advice nor respecting the Constitution. The Supreme Court advised them and clearly stated that under no circumstances can you decide who is Indian and who is not. Work under the Constitution and include Aadhaar card along with other documents,” he said.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy backs EC on SIR
On Monday, BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy backed the ECI on the SIR of electoral rolls in the state. He stated that it is the poll body’s responsibility to remove any ‘Bangladeshi or Pakistani’ from the voter list.
“If there is any Bangladeshi or someone from Myanmar or Pakistan or any other country in Bihar’s voter list. It is the responsibility of the Election Commission. The commission is removing such voters. I believe this process is constitutional,” he told ANI.
Criticising the INDIA bloc for their opposition, Rudy questioned if “they are worried because their votes will be cut? It would be better if they answered these questions.”
Opposition questions EC move to revise rolls nationwide
According to reports, the Election Commission earlier directed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in all states to begin preparations for a Bihar-style Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have criticised the move, questioning the ‘hurry’ of implementing a nationwide SIR without consulting political parties.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, and the Left, have argued that the EC should have waited for the SC to complete its hearing on the subject before giving directives for a Bihar-like SIR.
ECI’s voter revision drive to continue
Earlier on Thursday, the SC allowed the ECI to continue with its exercise of conducting the SIR of electoral rolls. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi asked the ECI to consider allowing Aadhaar, ration cards, and electoral photo identity cards as admissible documents to prove voter identity.
“We are of the prima facie opinion that in the interest of justice, the Election Commission will also include documents like Aadhaar, Ration Card, Voter ID card, etc.. It is for the ECI to decide whether it wants to accept the documents or not, and if it does not, then provide reasons for its decision, which shall be sufficient to satisfy the petitioners. Meanwhile, petitioners are not pressing for an interim stay,” the bench said.
The top court was hearing a series of petitions challenging the ECI’s decision to undertake the SIR of electoral rolls.
Opposition holds ‘Bihar Bandh’ against voter list revision
Last week, the India bloc held a massive ‘Bihar Bandh’ rally in Patna against electoral roll revision. Calling the ECI a ‘Godi Aayog’, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the NDA alliance of using the constitutional body to erase the names of ‘Bihar’s poor people’ from the voter list.
Bihar Elections 2025
This year, the Bihar polls will take place between October and November. The election is expected to be a tight race between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal United (JDU), and the Mahagathbandhan or INDIA alliance, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.
While the ECI has yet to release the voting dates, the elections for all 243 assembly seats are scheduled to take place before November 22, 2025. As per the ECI, the 243-member Bihar Assembly’s tenure ends on November 22.
