No party files objections since Bihar draft voters’ list publication: EC

Nine days after Bihar’s draft electoral rolls were published, the Election Commission reports no objections from political parties. The list remains open for claims till September 1 amid opposition protests. The final roll will be published by September 30

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday said that since the Bihar draft voters’ list was published on August 1, no political party has approached it for inclusion or deletion of names of individuals from the rolls.

The draft roll will be available till September 1 for claims and objections under which parties and individuals can seek inclusion of eligible citizens left out and exclusion of those they believe are ineligible.

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The EC said between August 1 and 3 pm of August 10 (Sunday), no booth-level agent (BLA) appointed by parties has approached poll authorities in the claims and objections procedure.

According to the EC, 1.61 lakh BLAs have been deployed by various parties just before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of state electoral rolls began in June. As many as 8,341 forms were received for inclusion or removal of names from individual electors.

The draft list is part of the ongoing SIR of the voter list of Bihar by the EC, which is facing protests from the opposition parties as they claim the exercise will deny many eligible citizens their voting rights for want of documents.

Seeking debate on the issue, the opposition protests have been leading to stalling of both Houses of Parliament since the Monsoon session began on July 21. The EC has asserted that no eligible citizen will be left out of the electoral rolls. The final electoral roll will be published on September 30.