The Bihar chief electoral officer has issued a notice saying that the electors whose names were not included in the draft roll and dissatisfied may file a claim along with a copy of their Aadhaar card.
“…All such voters, who are not included in the draft list, can get information about their entry in this list along with the reason through their EPIC number. The list related to such voters who are not included in the draft list published on 01.08.2025 has also been displayed at all block offices, panchayat offices, municipal bodies offices and polling stations, through which such voters can get information and information related to their entry along with the reason. Dissatisfied persons can submit their claim with a copy of their Aadhar card,” the Bihar CEO said in his order, reported The Indian Express.
This came after the Supreme Court, while hearing petitions against the special intensive revision (SIR) on Thursday, had directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for establishing identity.
It is not clear whether such voters need to produce one of the 11 EC-mandated documents to get their names enrolled into the list again.
Out of 7.89 crore voters in Bihar, 7.24 crore were enrolled in the first draft. Out of the 65 lakh names deleted from the list, 36 lakh were shown to have moved elsewhere, and 22 lakh were said to be dead.
The Opposition has criticised the SIR, calling it an exclusionary process ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. They have demanded a Parliamentary debate on what they call “votebandi”, claiming it threatens the voting rights of many.
The Monsoon session has already witnessed near-total disruption in both Houses due to ongoing protests over the issue.
The leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi announced a Voter Adhikaar Yatra in Bihar that started from Sunday.
Rahul’s march, starting from Sasaram, will reach Patna, covering 178 kilometres in 16 days. The yatra will pass through Kutumba, Wazirgunj, Sheikhpura, Munger, Kastibagh, Katihar, Purnea, Supaaul, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Chhapra and Arrah.
On August 7, Rahul had presented data collated from an Assembly segment under a Lok Sabha seat in Bengaluru to explain how voters list was being manipulated which he alleged was being done to help the BJP.
Addressing a news conference on Sunday, CEC said some people have ended up having multiple voter identity cards due to migration and other issues, and exercises like the special intensive revision (SIR) would rectify such discrepancies.
Kumar also said the 'house number zero' issue flagged by political parties also arises as several voters do not have a home or their homes have not been given numbers by the panchayat or their respective municipality.
"Many people do not have a home, but their name is also in the voter list. The address that is given is the place where that person comes to sleep at night. Sometimes on the side of the road, sometimes under the bridge." "If such voters are called fake voters, it would be a big joke on the poor voters," he said.
