JDU's Sanjay Jha mocks Rahul Gandhi for 'missing' after Bihar voter yatra

Following the announcement of the second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, JDU MP Sanjay Jha on Tuesday took a veiled dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', accusing him of engaging in politics in the name of the SIR exercise.

Jha questioned the absence of Rahul Gandhi, saying, "Such a large procession was held in Bihar regarding SIR. The leader who led the procession has been missing for two months. No one knows where he is. He had nothing to do with Bihar. He simply played politics and left."

The 16-day-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', led by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, was conducted from August 17 to September 1. It was aimed at raising awareness about voter rights and protesting against alleged "vote theft" and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

Jha further said that the SIR is no longer an issue in the Bihar Assembly elections, as no one is even discussing it.

"SIR is not an issue in the Bihar elections. Now no one is even discussing it... Only those who have been conducting bogus polling have a problem with SIR," the JD(U) Working President told ANI.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will conduct the second phase of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, with the final voter list to be published on February 7, 2026.

The first phase of the SIR was conducted in Bihar in September, ahead of the Assembly elections in the State.

The exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

According to the Election Commission, printing and training will take place from October 28 to November 3, followed by an Enumeration Phase from November 4 to December 4.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objection period from December 9 to January 8, 2026.

The Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will take place between December 9, 2025, and January 31, 2026, with publication of Final Electoral Rolls on February 7, 2026.

"The second phase of SIR (Special Intensive Revision) is about to be carried out in 12 States and UTs," Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing a press conference.

However, separate orders for Special Intensive Revision of the voter list will be issued for Assam, as the state has separate provisions under the Citizenship Act, Kumar said.

CEC Kumar said that the citizenship verification in Assam, under the supervision of the Supreme Court, is about to be completed.

He said, "Under India's Citizenship Act, there are separate provisions for Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the checking of citizenship there is about to be completed. The June 24 SIR order was for the entire country. Under such circumstances, this would not have been applicable to Assam. So, separate orders for revision will be issued for Assam."

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, provides for the special provisions for citizenship covered by the Assam Accord.

Following the Supreme Court's directions, the ECI has included Aadhaar in the list of 12 indicative documents, as per its September 9 order relating to the SIR in Bihar.