What Happened to the 341 Claims and Objections Filed by Voters in Bihar?

New Delhi, Aug 12 (NationPress) The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, along with his dedicated team of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), has successfully addressed 341 claims and objections made by electors regarding the inclusion of names in the draft voter list and the removal of ineligible voters, as confirmed by an official statement on Tuesday.

According to an ECI bulletin, the election office has received a total of 13,970 claims and objections from electors in relation to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

As per established guidelines, the concerned ERO/AERO resolves these claims and objections after a period of 7 days post verification of the eligibility of documents.

Interestingly, even after 12 days from the publication of the draft electoral rolls, no political party has lodged any complaints, as stated by the election commission.

Since August 1, the ECI reported that 63,591 new electors, who reached the age of 18 following the SIR exercise, have submitted applications for inclusion in the voter list.

The election office has received six applications from Booth Level Agents (BLAs) representing various political parties for these first-time voters.

The SIR initiative in Bihar has faced criticism from opposition parties over alleged irregularities, claiming these actions could disenfranchise millions of voters—an assertion that the ECI has denied.

The election commission published the draft electoral rolls on August 1, providing a month-long period for individuals, political parties, and their BLAs to address any grievances regarding the inclusion or exclusion from the draft electoral list.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has 47,506 BLAs, the Congress has 17,549, and the Left has over 2,000, collectively surpassing 67,000.

The ECI has consistently engaged with political parties to participate in the revision process and report instances of disenfranchisement, if any.

“We urge you to submit your claims and objections to correct any inaccuracies in the draft Electoral Roll of Bihar published on August 1. Remarkably, not a single claim or objection has been filed by any political party,” stated the EC.

The ECI emphasized that between June 23 and July 25, the Congress increased its BLAs to 17,549 (a 105% rise), Rashtriya Janata Dal to 47,506 (a 1% increase), Janata Dal (United) to 36,550 (a 31% rise), and BJP to 53,338 (a 3% increase).

The ECI wrapped up the enumeration phase of the SIR from June 24 to July 25, with over 7.24 crore electors—out of a total of 7.89 crore—submitting their enumeration forms during this period.

Ultimately, approximately 65 lakh voters were identified as missing from the draft electoral rolls published on August 1, which included 22 lakh deceased electors (2.83%), 36 lakh (4.59%) who had permanently moved or were untraceable, and seven lakh (0.89%) who had registered in multiple locations, according to ECI data.