New Delhi, Sep 30 (NationPress) The Election Commission of India has released the highly anticipated final voter list as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the election-bound state of Bihar.

During the enumeration phase of the SIR, which took place from June 24 to July 25, over 7.24 crore electors out of a total of 7.89 crore submitted their details. However, the draft rolls indicated that approximately 65 lakh voters were missing.

This group of 65 lakh missing voters includes 22 lakh deceased (2.83 percent), 36 lakh (4.59 percent) who have either permanently relocated or could not be located, and seven lakh (0.89 percent) found registered in multiple locations, according to the ECI data.

Notably, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, will be visiting Bihar on October 4 and 5 to oversee preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections.

This high-level visit will occur shortly after the release of the SIR-based final electoral roll in the state.

The current tenure of the 243-member Bihar Assembly concludes on November 22, making the elections in this politically crucial state imminent.

According to officials, the Election Commission (EC) team will meet with senior state officials to evaluate administrative, security, and logistical arrangements for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

It is typical for the poll authority to assess ground readiness in a state before announcing the election schedule.

There is widespread speculation that once the EC team returns to Delhi after its Bihar visit, the formal announcement of the Assembly elections may follow within days.

The SIR of the voter list, conducted in Bihar after more than two decades, has drawn significant criticism from opposition parties.

They claim that this exercise could disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters.

However, the Commission has dismissed these accusations, asserting that the revision process is aimed at enhancing accuracy.

Based on historical patterns, the poll panel is likely to conduct the elections in three to four phases, although the precise number will depend on security and logistical factors.

The upcoming festival season, with Diwali and Chhath Puja occurring around the same time, adds complexity to the planning to ensure minimal disruption for voters.

In the previous 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, voting took place in three phases—October 28, November 3, and November 7—with results announced on November 10.

The CEC's visit indicates that the announcement of poll dates is close, likely to occur in early October.