The Election Commission of India has released the final Bihar electoral roll 2025 with 7.24 crore voters after a Special Intensive Revision—the first in 22 years. The update, marked by 65 lakh deletions and 14 lakh new additions.
In a landmark development ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday published the final electoral roll following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise—the first such door-to-door voter verification in 22 years.
The updated roll now includes 7.24 crore eligible voters, a massive database that will determine the outcome of one of India’s most politically significant state polls.
The revision aimed to purge errors, remove ineligible entries, and add fresh registrations. It has, however, triggered political uproar, with opposition parties alleging large-scale disenfranchisement even as the matter remains under Supreme Court scrutiny.
Bihar Electoral Roll 2025: Key Highlights
- Total Voters (Final List): 7.24 crore
- Deletions: Nearly 65 lakh proposed; majority upheld
- Deceased: ~22 lakh
- Permanently shifted: ~26 lakh
- Duplicates: ~7.5 lakh
- Untraceable/not found: ~52 lakh (11,484 confirmed untraceable)
- New Additions: ~14 lakh voters
- Objections Processed: 74,525 (306 per assembly constituency on average)
- Patna District: 48.15 lakh voters, 1.64 lakh more than draft roll
How Voters Can Check Their Names in Bihar Electoral Roll 2025
The ECI has urged voters to verify their status immediately to avoid disenfranchisement:
- Online (NVSP Portal): nvsp.in → “Search Your Name in Electoral Roll”
- Voter Helpline App: Available on Play Store/App Store → Search via EPIC or personal details
- Local BLOs: Assembly-wise lists available at polling stations
- ECI Portal: voters.eci.gov.in for PDF downloads
If a name is missing, voters can file Form 6 for inclusion or Form 7 for appeals against deletions until the election notification.
Bihar Electoral Roll 2025: Why the Special Intensive Revision Matters
The SIR exercise, conducted from June to July 2025, involved:
- 77,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs)
- 3,000 assistant officers
- 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from political parties
BLOs conducted door-to-door verification of 7.16 crore forms, digitizing over 90% of data for real-time correction. The ECI claims this unprecedented clean-up ensures a transparent and reliable electoral roll, essential for free and fair polls.
However, critics argue that the timing—barely months before elections—was politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA welcomed the revision, calling it a “democratic safeguard” against fake and illegal entries.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions on procedural flaws, with opposition leaders warning that any legal lapse could invalidate the exercise not just in Bihar but across India.
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What’s Next for Bihar?
- Bihar Assembly strength: 243 seats
- Current term ends: November 22, 2025
- Poll likely: October–November, post-Chhath Puja
- Key dates:
- Oct 3: Observer briefing
- Oct 4–5: ECI team in Patna
- Oct 6–7: Schedule announcement
The elections are expected to be a fierce contest between Nitish Kumar’s NDA and the Mahagathbandhan opposition bloc. The outcome of the SIR controversy—and the Supreme Court’s verdict—may well shape the legitimacy of the electoral process.
