New Delhi, Aug 2 – The Election Commission of India (ECI) has strongly refuted allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In a statement posted on its official X handle, the ECI outlined the decentralized nature of the election process, which involves over 1,00,000 Booth Level Officers, 288 Electoral Registration Officers, 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers, and 288 Returning Officers. Political parties, including the INC, had appointed 1,08,026 booth-level agents during Lok Sabha 2024, with 28,241 from Congress alone.
The Commission dismissed Gandhi’s claims as “unsubstantiated and misleading,” asserting that during the electoral roll preparation for Lok Sabha 2024, both draft and final lists were shared with political parties and were open to appeal under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. It noted that the INC filed very few appeals and only eight election petitions under Section 80 of the 1951 Act.
According to the ECI, Gandhi’s repeated allegations of “vote chori” undermine the work of election officials and seek to exert undue pressure on the electoral machinery without using established legal remedies.
The SIR, launched on June 24, 2025, requires around 2.9 crore of Bihar’s 7.8 crore registered voters—specifically those missing from the 2003 rolls—to submit proof of citizenship. Aadhaar has been excluded as a sole proof due to forgery risks.
Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, have criticized the process, citing faulty documentation, with TMC releasing certificates issued to a “Dog Babu” and a “Sonalika Tractor” as examples. The Supreme Court, in a July 10 directive, advised the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents to avoid exclusion.
