Bihar SIR: EC uploads names of 65 lakh deleted voters; claims done within 56 hours of SC directive

Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

NEW DELHI: The details of 65 lakh deleted voters from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls have been uploaded on district magistrates’ websites in line with a Supreme Court directive, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Sunday. The apex court, while hearing petitions against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar last week, directed the Election Commission to publish the deleted names along with reasons for their non-inclusion to enhance transparency. “Within 56 hours of the top court directive, the names of voters that were not included in the draft electoral roll have been posted on district websites,” said Kumar, reported PTI. He explained that under Commission guidelines, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are sub-divisional magistrate-level officers, prepare and finalise the rolls with the help of Booth Level Officers (BLOs). “EROs and BLOs undertake the responsibility for the correctness of Electoral Rolls,” he noted. The Election Commission said draft electoral rolls are shared in both digital and physical formats with political parties and are also uploaded on its website for public access. After publication, a one-month period is available for electors and parties to file claims and objections before the final list is released. In Bihar, the draft rolls were published on August 1 and will remain open until September 1, giving parties and individuals time to seek inclusion of eligible voters or the removal of ineligible names. Defending the SIR exercise, Kumar said it was a “matter of grave concern” that some parties were spreading “misinformation” about the process. He stressed that India’s election system for parliament and assembly polls is a “multi-layered, decentralised construct as envisaged by law.”