The 243 assembly seats in Bihar will go to polls in two phases: November 6 and 11, with the vote counting scheduled for November 14. Addressing the media, CEC Kumar said, “ECI has already taken a decision to conduct SIR throughout the country"
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during ECI's press conference in New Delhi on Monday. PIC/PTI
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday announced that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists across the country following the announcement of the Bihar Assembly elections schedule, news agency ANI reported.
The 243 assembly seats in Bihar will go to polls in two phases: November 6 and 11, with the vote counting scheduled for November 14.
Addressing the media, CEC Kumar said, “ECI has already taken a decision to conduct SIR throughout the country.”
The commission had earlier stated in its June 24 order that SIR would be conducted nationwide.
Commenting on the Bihar election process, the CEC said the electors had actively participated in the voter list’s purification.
“The final voter’s list after SIR has been given to all political parties. Post the date of nomination filing, the voter list, which is to be released, will be final. The electors of Bihar fully participated in the purification of the voter list in the state,” he added.
Earlier, on October 5, the CEC had defended the commission’s decision to conduct SIR before the elections, calling suggestions to delay it until after the polls “unjustified.” He clarified that the SIR is legal and mandated under the Representation of the People Act.
“Regarding the decision to conduct the Special Intensive Revision before the elections, if you go by the Representation of the People Act, it is legal for the Election Commission to conduct the revision before every election and is required to do so under the law. For someone to say that the revision should be conducted after the elections is unjustified,” Kumar said at a press conference in Patna.
Following the completion of SIR, the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for Bihar. The total number of electors now stands at 7.42 crore, down from 7.89 crore as of June 24. According to an EC press release, 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, while 21.53 lakh eligible electors were added, bringing the final total to 7.42 crore. In Patna, 1.63 lakh electors were added across 14 assembly constituencies.
In the upcoming elections, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will face a strong challenge from the opposition INDIA bloc, which includes Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD, Congress, CPI (ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, CPI, CPM, and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). The elections will also see the entry of a new contender, Prashant Kishor, and his party Jan Suraaj.
(With ANI inputs)
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