Bihar voter list not final, Why such fuss? asks ECI

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday raised sharp questions over the ongoing controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, clarifying that the draft voters' list to be published on August 1 is not the final roll. In a strongly-worded statement, the EC said that a full month from August 1 to September 1 will be available for eligible citizens to file claims and objections, and ensure any wrongful inclusions or exclusions are corrected. The final list will be published on September 30.The poll panel questioned the motive behind the uproar, saying, "Why are they creating such a big fuss now?" when the process is still ongoing.

As part of the first phase of SIR, which ended on July 25, enumeration forms were received from 7.24 crore voters  representing 91.69% of Bihar's electorate. During this period, booth-level officers found that around 36 lakh electors had either permanently shifted or were untraceable. Additionally, seven lakh voters were discovered to be registered at multiple locations.