Voting for the 230-seat Bihar Assembly will begin on Friday — with more than 1,300 candidates contesting the first phase of polls. The Election Commission has announced a slew of reforms over the past few months that will be implemented during the Bihar elections.
SIR for Bihar
The Election Commission had led a Special Intensive Revision process in Bihar ahead of the elections — deleting more than 68 lakh names from the electoral rolls after verification. The Election Commission of India published the final electoral roll for the Bihar assembly elections on September 30. The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year. An Election Commission press release stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.It stated that ineligible electors removed from the draft list stood at 3.66 lakh, while 21.53 lakh eligible electors were added to the draft list (Form 6), taking the total to 7.42 crore voters.
Booth level changes
The poll body had announced plans to begin 100% webcasting at all poll booths (up from 50% presently) to ensure real-time monitoring during the Bihar elections. Alternative arrangements using videography or photography will be made for ‘shadow areas’ with poor connectivity. Photo identity cards have been made mandatory for Booth Level Officers and candidate campaign booths are now allowed outside 100 metres from polling stations. A limit of 1200 voters per booth has also been imposd to reduce crowding and long queues.
EVM ballot paper updates
The Election Commission of India has revised EVM ballot guidelines ahead of the Bihar polls — adding several measures to improve clarity. Coloured photographs of the candidates will now take center stage, while other details are printed in bold with a large font size.
Voter information slips have also been updated for clarity and now include booth QR codes. The Election Commission has also streamlines processes for faster postal ballot counting and mandated Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail scrutiny for any EVM and paper trail mismatch.