With eight days still left in the claims and objections period, the Election Commission said 1.8 % electors remain to submit their documents

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday said that documents of 98.2 per cent electors in Bihar have been received as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls. With eight days still left in the claims and objections period, the Commission said 1.8 per cent electors remain to submit their documents.

“As per information received from the office of CEO Bihar, till date documents of 98.2 per cent electors have been received,” the Commission said in its statement. It added that “there are still eight days to go till 1 September with just 1.8 per cent electors remaining for submission of the documents. The exercise to collect their documents with the help of BLOs and volunteers is going on.”

The SIR in Bihar began on June 24 with the enumeration phase and publication of the draft electoral rolls on August 1. The claims and objections period will end on September 1. According to ECI, 7.24 crore electors are listed in the draft rolls. The Commission said that from June 24 to August 24, documents from 98.2 per cent electors have been collected, averaging about 1.64 per cent per day. Verification of documents is being done by 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and 2,976 Assistant EROs. All claims and objections, along with verification, are scheduled to be decided by September 25. The final electoral rolls will be published on September 30.

This is the first time the Commission has released consolidated figures on the number of documents received. Over the past weeks, political parties and the Supreme Court had sought clarity on the progress of the revision exercise. Last Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said it would be “too premature” to share the numbers because the data was still being compiled at the ERO level. “I myself don’t know,” Kumar told reporters then, adding that details were still being consolidated from the districts. The figures released today mark a change, with the ECI giving a statewide tally for the first time.

According to the ECI, 0.16 per cent claims and objections have been received in Bihar. Of these, 10 have been submitted by booth-level agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties, none by persons outside their constituencies, and 1,21,143 by electors within their constituencies. In addition, 3,28,847 new electors—those who turned 18 as of July 1 or will do so by October 1—have submitted Form 6 along with the required declaration. This includes six submissions made through BLAs.

The Supreme Court is monitoring the exercise after large-scale deletions from the draft rolls raised concerns. Around 65 lakh names had been excluded in the draft published on August 1. The court directed the Commission on August 14 to upload the list of omitted names on district websites and the CEO Bihar website in searchable form. It also ordered that voters could establish their eligibility by submitting Aadhaar or any of 11 listed identity documents. In compliance, the Commission uploaded the list of excluded names within two days and began accepting claims with the prescribed documents. It has asked the court to repose trust in its ability to complete the revision within the scheduled timelines.

Facing questions from opposition parties, the CEC last week said the exercise was being carried out within the legal framework. “There is no ruling side or opposition for us,” Kumar said at his first press conference since the SIR began. He also described allegations of voter fraud as “false” and said those making such charges must produce evidence. The Commission has argued that the revision is mandated under Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Article 324 of the Constitution.

The claims and objections period will continue until September 1. EROs and AEROs will complete verification and decide on all cases by September 25. After final checks, the electoral rolls for Bihar will be published on September 30. The Commission has said that the process of collecting documents, similar to the collection of enumeration forms, is on track to finish before the deadline.