Bihar SIR Row: The controversy surrounding the revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls continues to escalate. The Election Commission has provided a one-month window for voters to raise objections or request corrections to the draft voter list. The Congress party announced that it had lodged nearly 8.9 million complaints regarding alleged irregularities. However, the Election Commission dismissed the claims.

In response, Bihar’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) clarified that the complaints were not processed because the Congress failed to use the prescribed forms required for filing objections. The official emphasized that objections must be submitted in the proper format to be considered valid. The CEO pointed out that the data mentioned in the Congress complaint of 89 lakh voters was unverified.

“The Presidents of the District Congress Committees of the Indian National Congress have, in the last 1-2 days, submitted letters to the District Election Officers in Bihar, requesting the deletion of the names of around 89 lakh (8.9 million) people from the electoral rolls,” said Bihar Chief Election Officer on X.

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The official statement further added that, as per the rules and directions of the Election Commission, any deletion of names can only be done through “Rule 13 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, under which only Form 7 can be submitted…Booth Level Agents appointed by political parties, who can file objections in the prescribed format. Such objections, under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, must be submitted along with a declaration,” it added.

The official statement mentioned that the ERO will take the ‘appropriate decision’ on the process of deletion of around 89 lakh voters. It also added that only after sworn affidavits and proper scrutiny, names would be considered for removal. The statement also referenced the Supreme Court’s interim order dated August 22, which stated that any objections regarding incorrect entries in the electoral rolls must be submitted in the prescribed format to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer.

Earlier on Sunday, while addressing a press conference in Bihar’s Patna, party leader Pawan Khera claimed that the poll body in Bihar has previously refused to accept the filed complaints, and is claiming through sources that no political party has filed an objection. “The election commission, through sources, has planted that no political party is objecting; one must have heard this. We also got to know that we did not do anything. Congress has submitted 89 lakh complaints to the Election Commission. We kept on doing our work silently and smiled at the sources. We then understood why zero complaints,” Khera asked.

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“Then we got to know that when complaints are not taken from our BLAs when they go to submit them. Instead, they are saying they will take from individuals,” he added. While speaking to ANI after the conference, Khera also expressed confidence in Congress winning the upcoming assembly elections, saying that people’s eyes have been opened about their mandate being stolen.

“We will win these (Bihar) elections. People’s eyes have opened that this is a stolen mandate. They will have to give up (power),” he said. The EC received 118 claims and objections in total from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Of the 118 claims and objections, the CPI (ML) Liberation filed 103 for exclusion of names, while 15 were filed for inclusion. The process of filing claims and objections will close today. (With ANI inputs)