New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday thanked the voters of Bihar for their overwhelming participation in the state’s ambitious electoral roll clean-up drive the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

“I thank all eligible electors of Bihar for actively participating in the much-needed cleaning of the electoral rolls,” said Gyanesh Kumar, as the state nears the final stages of enumeration ahead of the publication of the draft electoral roll on August 1.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), out of the total 7.89 crore electors in Bihar, nearly 7 crore voters — a substantial 88.65 per cent — have submitted their enumeration forms.

Of these, over 81.96 per cent have already been uploaded into the system. The ongoing SIR ahead of the Assembly elections, launched to weed out inaccuracies and duplications, has so far identified over 35.6 lakh electors who were not found at their registered addresses.

These include 12.55 lakh likely deceased voters, 17.37 lakh who may have permanently shifted, and 5.76 lakh voters enrolled in multiple locations.

To further verify these entries, the Election Commission will now share this data with political party representatives and 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents from July 17, allowing them to assist in confirming statuses of the voters before the July 25 deadline expires.

In a move to ensure no eligible voter is left out, special camps are being held across 5,683 urban wards in 261 urban local bodies of Bihar.

Migrants living outside Bihar can also submit their enumeration forms online through the ECINet app or the official ECI portal.

With only 6.85 per cent of voters yet to submit their forms, the poll panel is optimistic about achieving near-total participation before the July 25 deadline.

The electoral roll clean-up in Bihar is a crucial step ahead of future elections and reflects the Commission’s intensified focus on accuracy and transparency in the voter data.

–IANS

sas/rad