ECI releases final voter list for Bihar after SIR; 74.2 mn people can vote

The voter list can be downloaded from ECI's official website; physical copies of the electoral roll will be made available to all district election officers

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday released the final electoral roll for the Bihar Assembly elections, which are scheduled for October-November. As of September 30, 2025, the total number of eligible voters in Bihar stands at 74.2 million.

 

The voter list can be downloaded from the ECI's official website, and physical copies of the electoral roll will be made available to all District Election Officers-cum-District Magistrates. According to media reports, the final roll will also be provided to all recognised national and state-level political parties.

Draft roll was released on August 1

Following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, the draft electoral roll was published on August 1 this year. It included the names of over 72.4 million voters who had submitted their enumeration forms.

 

However, the number of voters who appeared in the 2024 Bihar Lok Sabha elections stood at 78.9 million. During the SIR, the names of at least 6.5 million voters were removed because they were deceased or had migrated from the state. 

 

According to the Election Commission, over 36,000 voters filed claims to add their names, while 217,000 voters applied for deletion of names. Moreover, around 300,000 voters were issued notices for not submitting the required documents.

SC to ensure fair process

The Supreme Court has clarified that the process can be cancelled if any wrongdoing is found even after the release of the final roll. The apex court pointed out that publishing the final roll does not make it immune from legal action. The final hearing on the SIR process, which has sparked widespread debate across the nation and drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition due to its timing, is scheduled for October 7.

 

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the ECI multiple times, accusing it and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “institutionalised vote theft”. He claims that millions of genuine voters, especially the poor, are being unfairly removed from the list.