The Election Commission of India (ECI) has firmly dismissed the Opposition’s allegations of “vote chori” in Bihar’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters’ list. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while addressing a press conference on Sunday, August 17, stated that certain political parties were spreading “misinformation” and misusing voter details for political mileage. He questioned the Opposition’s conduct, pointing out that voter photographs were shared with the media without consent, and reiterated that only those whose names are legitimately on the electoral roll are eligible to cast their vote.

The ECI highlighted that the SIR process is being conducted with complete transparency, ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders, including booth-level officers and agents from every political party. According to Gyanesh Kumar, around 1,60,000 booth-level agents prepared the draft list, which was duly verified and signed by party representatives at each polling booth. Voters themselves have filed a total of 28,370 claims and objections, which are being reviewed as part of the revision. The Commission stressed that it does not discriminate among political parties and that its goal is to strengthen electoral trust ahead of the polls in Bihar.

Meanwhile, the Commission has asked Congress leaders to submit specific names of voters they believe were wrongly added or deleted from the rolls, along with a signed declaration, if they wish to pursue their claims. The ECI underlined that unfounded accusations only harm democratic institutions and clarified that every political party had equal access to the process at every stage. With the Supreme Court also monitoring voter roll corrections, the coming days are expected to bring further clarity on the scope of additions and deletions in Bihar’s electoral list.