‘Did not follow proper process’: Bihar Chief Electoral Officer on Congress submitting 89 lakh complaints on voter list

PATNA: Hours after the Congress party said that they submitted close to 89 lakh complaints to the Election Commission regarding the voter lists in Bihar, the state’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) responded by saying that the party did not follow the proper process of correctly filling up the prescribed form, as mandated to be submitted regarding any objections to the voter list.

In an official statement which was released on X, the CEO mentioned, “The Presidents of the District Congress Committees of the Indian National Congress have, in the last 1-2 days, submitted letters to the District Election Officers in Bihar, requesting the deletion of the names of around 89 lakh (8.9 million) people from the electoral rolls”.

इंडियन नेशनल कांग्रेस की दिनांक 31.8.2025 की प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के संबंध में प्रेस विज्ञप्ति @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/EhxkY20kVP

— Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar (@CEOBihar) August 31, 2025

The official statement further added that, as per the rules and directions of the Election Commission, any deletion of names can only be done through “Rule 13 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, under which only Form 7 can be submitted”. “Booth Level Agents appointed by political parties, who can file objections in the prescribed format. Such objections, under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, must be submitted along with a declaration,” it added.

The CEO pointed out that the data mentioned in the Congress complaint of “89 lakh voters” was unverified. The official statement mentioned that the ERO will take the ‘appropriate decision’ on the process of deletion of around 89 lakh voters. It also added that only after sworn affidavits and proper scrutiny, names would be considered for removal.

The statement also referenced the Supreme Court’s interim order dated August 22, which stated that any objections regarding incorrect entries in the electoral rolls must be submitted in the prescribed format to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer.

On Sunday, while addressing a press conference in Bihar’s Patna, party leader Pawan Khera claimed that the poll body in Bihar has previously refused to accept the filed complaints, and is claiming through sources that no political party has filed an objection.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: On the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, Congress leader Pawan Khera says, “The entire country is coming together because this issue is not limited to Bihar alone but concerns the voting rights of every single voter in the country… For the past 10 years, we have… pic.twitter.com/EdHS79GnQB

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2025

“The election commission, through sources, has planted that no political party is objecting; one must have heard this. We also got to know that we did not do anything. Congress has submitted 89 lakh complaints to the Election Commission. We kept on doing our work silently and smiled at the sources. We then understood why zero complaints”, Khera asked. “Then we got to know that when complaints are not taken from our BLAs when they go to submit them. Instead, they are saying they will take from individuals”, he added.

While speaking after the conference, Khera also expressed confidence in Congress winning the upcoming Assembly elections, saying that people’s eyes have been opened about their mandate being stolen. “We will win these (Bihar) elections. People’s eyes have opened that this is a stolen mandate. They will have to give up (power),” he said.

The EC received 118 claims and objections in total from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Of the 118 claims and objections, the CPI (ML) Liberation filed 103 for exclusion of names, while 15 were filed for inclusion. The process of filing claims and objections will close on September 1. (ANI)