The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the final figures for the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. According to the data, after voter revisions, Bihar has a total of 72.4 million voters. Approximately 6.5 million names have been removed from the electoral rolls. Those removed include deceased voters, those who have migrated, and those residing outside of the country. The ECI reported that as of June 24, 2025, Bihar had 78.9 million voters.
Of these, over 72.4 million voters submitted their enumeration forms. The final figure for the first phase of SIR stands at 72.4 million. The 6.5 million names removed belonged to deceased individuals, migrants, foreign residents, and those who have permanently relocated. Key statistics include:
* 72.4 million forms collected.
* 2.2 million deceased.
* 3.6 million migrants.
* 700,000 permanent relocation.
**Significant Increase in BLA Numbers**
The Election Commission credited the successful completion of the first phase of SIR to the Chief Executive Officer of Bihar, the District Election Officers of all 38 districts, 243 EROs, 2,976 AEROs, BLOs deployed at 77,895 polling stations, thousands of volunteers, and regional representatives from all 12 major political parties, including 160,000 BLAs. The total number of BLAs saw an increase of over 16% during the SIR period.
**SIR Initiated on June 24**
SIR in Bihar commenced on June 24, 2025. Its objective was to remove names of deceased, relocated, and duplicate-registered voters from the electoral rolls and to include eligible voters. Under this process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) visited homes to collect enumeration forms from voters. The Commission almost completed the first phase of this process by July 25, covering 99.8% of voters.
The Commission stated that eligible voters whose names were missed would have an opportunity to be included in the draft electoral roll from August 1 to September 1, 2025. Names of voters found to be registered in multiple places will be retained in only one place. The campaign, which began in Bihar, is planned to be implemented across the country.
**Controversy over SIR in Bihar**
SIR has been a subject of ongoing controversy in Bihar. It is the most extensive revision in Bihar since 2003. Opposition parties, including RJD and Congress, claim that SIR is a conspiracy aimed at stripping the voting rights of the poor, Dalits, backward classes, and minorities. The opposition has termed SIR a ‘backdoor NRC.’ Opposition parties say that many families lack essential documents, such as birth certificates. Only 2.8% of people in Bihar had birth certificates between 2001-2005, posing a threat to the removal of millions of people from the voter list. Tejashwi Yadav has stated that this is being done to benefit the NDA.
