Fact Check | Did ECI delete 1.26 crore voters from Bihar electoral list under SIR?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) revealed new details on Sunday about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. Following the release, MP Saket Gokhale raised concerns in a post on social media, claiming that the ECI “deleted” 1.26 crore voters from Bihar’s voter list overnight. To confirm this, Financial Express wet through ECI’s latest findings and here’s what they reveal:

The ECI findings reveal that so far, 22 lakh voters are found to have passed away, and another 36 lakh have either permanently shifted from their previous address or could not be found. In case of duplicate entries, 7 lakh voters have been enrolled at multiple places, which means there are that many double entries. The Election Commission has categorically said that no name can be deleted from the draft list (which is to be finalised on August 1) without giving a notice to the voter and a written explanation by the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) or AERO.

The details further show that as of June 24, the officials have collected 7.24 crore voter enumeration forms (verification forms). The ECI has stated that the final status of these voters will be confirmed after the forms are carefully checked by election officers by August 1, 2025. The draft voter list will be released on August 1, and the final list will be ready by September 30.

ECI findings/updates on SIR of Bihar electoral roll

• Out of 7.89 crore electors, more than 7.24 crore electors in Bihar have submitted their Enumeration Forms, as of June 24 this year.
• People whose names were wrongly or mistankenly removed can still apply to be added back to the voter list between August 1 and September 1, 2025, during the Claims and Objection period. If a voter is listed in more than one place, their name will only be kept in one location.
• Around 16 lakh voter verification forms were filled online, while another 13 lakh forms were downloaded by users to fill manually — making it a total of nearly 29 lakh forms.
• By July 20, 2025, election officials (CEOs, DEOs, EROs, BLOs) gave political parties booth-wise lists of voters who were marked as dead, permanently moved, untraceable, or whose enumeration forms were not submitted. The idea was to let political parties help confirm the status of these voters. Updated lists were shared again later based on the feedback received from parties.
• Voters who hadn’t registered elsewhere could submit their forms either by filling it online through the ECI website or ECINet app, or download and print the form, sign it, and send it to the Booth Level Officer (BLO) through a family member. Alternatively, send a photo or scan of the signed form to the BLO via WhatsApp or similar apps.
• The ECI has stated that voters and political parties who want to raise objections or request changes in the draft voter list, can do so between August 1 and September 1, 202. They can ask to add missing eligible voters and remove names of ineligible people. These requests must be submitted to the ERO using the correct forms.

‘Draft voter list is not the final list,’ reiterates ECI

The Election Commission had earlier responded to the criticism over the ongoing revision of the voter list in Bihar by saying it doesn’t understand the current uproar. It had pointed out that there is a full month (from August 1 to September 1) for people and political parties to raise concerns about any incorrect additions or removals of names from the voter list.

The EC added that political parties are free to check the progress of the process themselves and encouraged them to get their 1.6 lakh booth-level agents to submit claims or objections during the official period. These agents, appointed by political parties, are supposed to work with the EC’s booth-level officers to help update the voter list.

The EC also said it is wrong to treat the draft list as final, as per the rules of the Special Intensive Revision.

Meanwhile, several opposition parties in Bihar have claimed that many eligible voters may lose their right to vote because of missing documents. They also alleged that the BJP could benefit from this process if government officials target people who support the opposition.