ELECTION COMMISSION ASKS FOR PUBLIC INPUT AMID BIHAR POLL DISPUTE, WANTS FEEDBACK ON VOTER ROLL UPDATES
NEW DELHI, India – August 26, 2025:To deal with the growing argument over how voter rolls are being updated, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is asking the public what they think about five key questions related to the process. This request for public input is part of the ECI’s plan to respond to claims from the opposition that there’s fraud and manipulation happening in Bihar, which is getting ready for elections. The update, called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), hasn’t been popular with opposition groups, who say that millions of real voters are wrongly being taken off the lists.
The Five Questions for the Public
The Election Commission has come up with five questions to figure out what people are thinking. These questions get to the heart of the voter purging issue. Here they are:
- Should voter rolls be updated and checked carefully?
- Should people who have died be removed from the voter rolls?
- Should people be removed from the list if they’re registered to vote in more than one place?
- Should voters who have moved to other states be taken off the list?
- Should people from other countries or outsiders not be allowed to vote?
Even though there’s no official announcement, sources inside the ECI say this is a move to get more people on their side. The ECI thinks that these questions, framed as a survey, will help push back against what they see as negative propaganda from the opposition.
How the Dispute Started
The issue began with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, which happened in Bihar from June 25 to July 25. During this big effort, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) went door-to-door to update the voter lists. But when the first versions of the updated lists came out on August 1, opposition parties, like Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), claimed that the ECI was intentionally removing voters who supported them.
Big-name politicians, including Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, have said this is a clear attempt to steal votes to help the ruling party. They’re saying almost 65 lakh names have been taken off the voter list, something the ECI keeps denying.
ECI’s Response and Legal Arguments
The Election Commission has strongly denied these claims. They’ve held press conferences and released official statements, saying that the update is a normal, open, and required process to make sure the voter lists are correct. The ECI has also responded to claims about specific voters being removed, showing that some people mentioned by politicians were either never on the lists or their names are still there.
The Supreme Court got involved and told the ECI to make sure no eligible voter is left out. The court also seemed surprised that political parties’ Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who are supposed to help with the update process, didn’t file more claims or objections.
Fighting for Public Confidence
Asking the public these five questions is a new step in this ongoing political and legal fight. It shifts the discussion from the details of updating voter lists to a direct appeal to what the public thinks about the importance of fair elections.
Both sides are now trying to shape the story. The opposition is continuing its Voter Rights Campaign to bring attention to the people they say have been wrongly removed. The ECI, on the other hand, is trying to use public opinion to support its actions and defend itself against the accusations of being biased.
What This Means for the Future
What happens with this public feedback will be very important. It could either strengthen the ECI’s position and make the opposition’s claims look less credible, or it could add to the debate if people don’t agree with what the commission is doing. The final results of the SIR, which are expected by September 30, will be watched closely.
This situation has brought a lot of public attention to how voter rolls are updated, which could set a new standard for being open and including the public in India’s democracy.
