Bihar voter roll revision: 11 documents accepted, but poor still anxious

Voters added after 2003 must submit one of 11 documents, but many poor and migrant families lack paperwork, raising concerns ahead of the Bihar elections

As Bihar gears up for the upcoming Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India has launched a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls — the first such exercise in the state since 2003. As part of this revision, approximately 29.3 million voters added after 2003 must now submit at least one of 11 prescribed documents to prove their eligibility.

 

According to the Election Commission's instructions, the list of 11 documents is indicative, not exhaustive. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are authorised to prepare electoral rolls and have the discretion to accept additional documents. The EC can issue guidelines, but it cannot restrict the types of documents an ERO may consider, as the final decision rests with the ERO.

 

 

What documents are required?

The Election Commission has listed the following documents as valid for voter verification:

 

1. Birth certificate

2. Passport

3. Matriculation or higher-education certificate

4. Government-issued identity or pension orders

5. Permanent residence certificate

6. Forest-rights certificate

7. Caste certificate (SC/ST/OBC)

8. NRC document (if applicable)

9. Family register issued by local authorities

10. Land or house allotment certificate

11. Government or PSU-issued identity documents from before 1987

 

Aadhaar, PAN, and driving licences are not accepted as standalone proof.

 

Around 49.6 million voters whose names were already listed in the 2003 rolls are exempt from submitting these documents. Additionally, their children are also not required to provide documents establishing their parents’ nationality.

 

Why are these documents difficult to obtain?

The requirement of these documents has raised serious concerns over access, especially among rural, marginalised, and migrant populations.  According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, many poor families do not possess any of these 11 documents. A large number of Bihar's young population has migrated for work, making form submission difficult. Moreover, some documents contain name mismatches, leading to form rejections. There is also a lack of technical or administrative assistance in remote areas.

 

• According to the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census, over 65.58 per cent of Bihar’s 1.78 crore rural households do not own any land, which limits their ability to produce land- or residence-based documents.

• According to the data by the Ministry of External affairs, only 27.44 lakh valid passports had been issued in Bihar till 2023 — a mere 2 per cent of the state’s population.

• Similarly, the Bihar Caste Survey 2022 shows that just 20.49 lakh people (1.57 per cent) are employed in government service , another small pool of individuals who might possess government employment certificates.

• According to the same report, Bihar’s total population stood at 13.07 crore in 2022. Of this, OBCs were 3.54 crore (27 per cent) and EBCs were 4.70 (36 per cent), Scheduled Castes were 2.6 crore (20 per cent), Scheduled Tribes (STs) 22 lakh (1.6 per cent). These communities together made over 84 per cent of the population. However, no data was available about the number of people from these communities who got their certificates.

 

The Dainik Bhaskar report cited one such case, where a man working in Mumbai was unable to send any documents home to his family in Bihar, who themselves lacked internet access and didn’t understand the form submission process.

 

While the SIR initiative aims to clean up electoral rolls and strengthen the voting system, it has triggered serious worries about access and fairness. For many of Bihar’s most vulnerable — including migrant labourers, daily-wage earners, and illiterate citizens, navigating the document maze is a daunting task.