Special Voter Revision Underway to Ensure Clean and Inclusive Electoral Roll
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) held a high-level meeting with representatives of major political parties on Wednesday at Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi. The focus was on explaining the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 process being conducted in Bihar.
Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar chaired the meeting. He was joined by Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi. The Commission addressed concerns and queries from political leaders and gave a step-by-step explanation of the SIR process, which is being rolled out in a phased and transparent manner.
Parties Present
Eleven political parties attended the session. These included the Indian National Congress (INC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Pawar faction (NCP-SP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Communist Party of India (CPI), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey).
Transparent and Inclusive Process
The Commission assured all parties that the SIR 2025 is being conducted fairly, with active support from all stakeholders. A total of 1.54 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties are working on the ground to ensure transparency and support for voters.
The Chief Election Commissioner appealed to all parties to appoint more BLAs to help with door-to-door outreach. He stressed that maximum participation will lead to a clean, updated, and inclusive electoral roll.
Detailed Breakdown of the Five Phases
Phase 1 (25 June – 3 July 2025):
Enumeration Forms (EFs) are being printed and distributed to all 7.90 crore voters in Bihar.
77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are delivering the forms door-to-door, while another 20,603 BLOs are being deployed.
Pre-filled forms based on the existing database as of 23 June 2025 are being provided to voters.
Forms are also available online at https://voters.eci.gov.in.
Phase 2 (Till 25 July 2025):
Voters are filling and submitting the forms.
Over 4 lakh volunteers, including government officials, National Service Scheme (NSS) members, and NCC cadets, are helping voters, especially the elderly, sick, disabled, and those from poor or marginalized communities.
Political parties can submit up to 50 verified forms daily through their BLAs.
Phase 3 (25 June – 26 July 2025):
Filled forms are being collected by BLOs.
They will issue acknowledgment slips to each voter and upload the data through the BLO App or ECINET portal.
Forms will be verified and submitted to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs.
Online submission is also available starting this week.
Phase 4 (1 August 2025):
The Draft Electoral Roll will be published.
It will include all voters whose forms are received by 25 July.
Names of voters who do not submit their EF by the deadline will not be included in the draft list.
Political parties will receive free copies of the roll and it will be uploaded on the ECI portal.
Phase 5 (1 August – 1 September 2025):
This is the claims and objections period.
Any citizen can file for inclusion or raise objections to incorrect entries.
No deletion will be made without a full inquiry and fair hearing.
Lists of all claims and objections will be displayed at ERO offices and online.
Political parties will get weekly updates.
Document Rules Explained
The Commission also clarified documentation requirements:
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If name is on the 2003 roll: Only the EF and an extract of the roll are needed.
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For others:
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Born before 1 July 1987: Provide one document for self.
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Born between 1 July 1987 – 2 December 2004: Submit documents for self and one parent.
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Born after 2 December 2004: Submit documents for self and both parents.
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If a voter’s parents are already listed in the 2003 roll, no additional documents are needed for them.
Final Roll on 30 September
The Final Electoral Roll will be published on 30 September 2025.
Hard and soft copies will be provided free to all recognized parties and published on the ECI website.
Voters who are unhappy with the decision of the ERO can appeal to the District Magistrate within 15 days, and further to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days.
ECI’s Appeal to Citizens
The Commission urged all eligible citizens in Bihar to actively participate in this special revision process. The goal is to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of the list.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasized, “Every vote counts. We want this to be a clean, complete, and inclusive roll. We seek full cooperation from parties and citizens alike.”
