Bihar elections 2025: EC to enrol 1st time, new voters in Aug | India News
NEW DELHI: As Election Commission digitises records of 64 lakh electors in Bihar reported as “deceased, permanently shifted, enrolled at multiple places or untraceable” along with reports of booth level officers (BLO) recommending their non-inclusion in the draft roll, a parallel exercise to enrol first-time and new electors is set to gather momentum in the coming days.EC sources said though new and first-time applicants had the option to fill up Form 6 (for fresh enrolment) or Form 8 (for those shifting from outside Bihar) even during the first phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that concluded on Friday, the focus, thus far, was on collecting enumeration forms and documentation from existing electors. The verification of Forms 6 and 8 received since June 26 will be done during the claims and objections period. A senior EC functionary said a special drive will be undertaken in Aug calling applications for fresh enrolment and apprising aspirant electors of SIR guidelines in this regard.As per the SIR order issued by EC on June 24, those seeking fresh enrolment or the ones shifted from outside Bihar must, along with their Form 6 and 8, respectively, mandatorily attach a signed declaration stating that they are citizens of India. The declaration must be backed by proof establishing their date and/or place of birth, and where required, that of their parents as well. If born outside India, they must also attach proof of birth registration issued by the Indian mission abroad or their certification of registration of citizenship acquired by naturalisation.While Forms 6 and 8, notified under the Registration of Elector Rules, 1960, in use thus far did not require citizenship proof, the SIR order, having been issued under Articles 324 and 326 of the Constitution, takes precedence over all related Rules and Acts.Since the SIR exercise is set to be replicated across the country in the coming months, this in effect means that “any new elector will henceforth be required to sign a declaration that he is an Indian citizen and submit proof of his date and place of birth, and, where required, that of his parents”, said an EC official.A source said the new enrolments will add to the numbers of electors in Bihar at a time when 64 lakh electors have been struck off the draft roll. “It remains to be seen if the elector additions will even out the exclusions or exceed them; in case of the latter, the Bihar electorate will cross the mark of 7.9 crore as it stood on June 24, 2025,” said a senior official.
