100K ‘untraceable’ in SIR; JD(U) MP questions drive

The Election Commission on Wednesday said nearly 100,000 electors remain “untraceable” in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar while enumeration forms of 71.7 million have been received and digitised, even as lawmaker Giridhari Yadav of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally, criticised the ongoing controversial exercise, terming it “rushed and impractical”.

- Vrinda Tulsian

In a press release on Wednesday, just two days before the July 25 deadline for the first phase of the SIR, the poll body said nearly 1.5 million electors were yet to return the filled enumeration forms to local poll officials.

“In the first phase of Bihar SIR, the lists of all primarily incorrectly included electors, and those who have not yet returned their Enumeration Forms have been shared, on 20th July, with 15 lakh (150,000) Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by District Presidents of all 12 major political parties of Bihar,” EC said in the release.

According to the poll authority, 2 million electors have been reported “deceased” so far and 2.8 million have been found to have permanently shifted from their present addresses.