The Bihar Chief Election Officer (CEO) has issued a response to Congress's submission of over 89 lakh complaints regarding the voter lists in the state. In his statement, the CEO stated that the party did not follow the proper process for completing the prescribed form correctly.
Confirming about receiving letters from Congress regarding the deletion of about 89 lakh names from the Bihar draft electoral roll for the past few days, the CEO said that such complaints can only be submitted with a declaration.
Taking to X, the Bihar CEO wrote, "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.
इंडियन नेशनल कांग्रेस की दिनांक 31.8.2025 की प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के संबंध में प्रेस विज्ञप्ति @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/EhxkY20kVP
— Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar (@CEOBihar) August 31, 2025
According to the CEO's official statement, as per the Election Commission's rules and directions, names from the electoral rolls can be deleted only through "Rule 13 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, under which only Form 7 can be submitted."
Adding, "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."
The CEO highlighted that the data mentioned by Congress in its complaint was "unverified". It mentioned in its statement that the "appropriate decision" on the process of deleting nearly 89 lakh voters will be taken by the ERO. The removal of names will be considered only after affidavits and proper scrutiny.
The CEO also referenced the August 22 interim order of the Supreme Court that stated that any objections regarding the incorrect entries in the electoral rolls shall be submitted to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer in the prescribed format.
A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls is being carried out in Bihar before the upcoming assembly elections. Any objections to the earlier released draft electoral roll can be submitted by Monday, September 1. Meanwhile, the hearing of RJD's petition regarding an extension in the last date is also scheduled in the Supreme Court.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Pawan Khera had claimed that the Election Commission of Bihar had refused to file the complaints, also saying that no political party had filed any objection.
While addressing a press conference in Patna, Khera said, "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 no complaints. Then we got to know that when complaints are not taken from our BLAs, they go to submit them. Instead, they are saying they will take from individuals."
On the contrary, according to the EC, it has received a total of 118 claims and objections from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) for the SIR of Bihar electoral rolls. Out of the 118 claims and objections filed by the CPI (LM), 103 are for the exclusion of names, while 15 are for inclusion.
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