Bihar Elections: 11,000 Untraceable Electors Add Suspense To SIR; Illegal Immigrant Link Likely

The ECI said on Friday that 94.68 percent of voters in Bihar have been successfully covered in the ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls. Meanwhile, over 11,000 voters listed in the current electoral roll have been found untraceable.

Bihar assembly by-elections (Photo Credit: File Photo/ANI)

Bihar Elections: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is in process in Bihar. Meanwhile, according to media reports, nearly 32 lakh electors are yet to be covered. Notably, over 11,000 voters listed in the current electoral roll have been found untraceable.

The draft electoral roll will be published on August 1, and political parties and citizens will have a full month to suggest corrections or additions, a press statement issued earlier said. 

According to sources cited by the Times of India, the untraceable electors could be illegal immigrants residing outside Bihar. Furthermore, the voters were not found at their registered addresses, nor were they known to have ever lived there.

The ECI said on Friday that 94.68 percent of voters in Bihar have been successfully covered in the ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls. 

Reports also indicate that the count of missing voters in Bihar is nearly 41 lakh. 

ECI's SIR Exercise In Bihar

In a bid to ensure transparency and accuracy, the ECI has shared lists of such voters with district presidents of political parties and more than 1.5 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by them. Each BLA is permitted to submit up to 50 certified forms per day until July 25.

According to IANS, this collaborative verification effort is aimed at preventing the exclusion of any eligible voter. The final electoral roll will be published on September 30, following the disposal of claims and objections by September 25.

Both printed and digital versions will be provided to recognised political parties and made available on the ECI website.

This voter list revision comes ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, which are likely to take place later this year.

(with IANS inputs)