Election Commission confident of completing Bihar SIR form collection before deadline

New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has expressed confidence that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar will be completed well ahead of the July 25 deadline, based on the progress recorded up to 6 P.M. on Tuesday.

According to the ECI, as of now, 3,70,77,077 Enumeration Forms amounting to 46.95 per cent of the total 7,89,69,844 (approximately 7.90 crore) electors in Bihar, have been collected since the launch of the exercise on June 24.

In the first two weeks, all 7.90 crore Enumeration Forms were printed, and over 97 per cent (7,70,44,990) have already been distributed to eligible electors. Furthermore, 18.16 per cent of the collected forms have been uploaded to the ECINET platform.

A significant number of prospective electors are choosing to submit their Enumeration Forms along with the required eligibility documents, as per the SIR order dated June 24.

With 17 days still remaining, the focus now shifts to collecting the remaining 50 per cent of the forms. In just the last 24 hours (till 6 P.M. on Tuesday, July 8) as many as 82,78,617 forms were collected -- representing 10.5 per cent of the total in a single day.

“If this pace continues, the collection phase could conclude well before the July 25 deadline,” the ECI statement said.

To accelerate the process, an additional 20,603 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been deployed, taking the total number on the ground to 77,895. These BLOs have already completed the first of their mandated three household visits, with the second round currently underway.

In addition, nearly 4 lakh volunteers, including government officials, NCC cadets, NSS members, and others, are assisting the elderly, differently-abled, and vulnerable populations in filling and submitting the forms.

The administrative machinery is also fully mobilised, with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) covering all 243 Assembly Constituencies and 963 Assistant EROs, 38 District Election Officers, and the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar overseeing the process at the ground level.

Recognised political parties, too, are playing an active role, the ECI statement said. District presidents of political parties have ramped up the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), with the current number standing at 1,56,626 -- up from 1,38,680 at the beginning of the exercise. Political parties still have the option to appoint more BLAs under provision 25.2.1 of the Manual on Electoral Rolls.

--IANS

skp/rad