With the Bihar Assembly elections expected to be announced soon, political parties have called for a free and fair electoral process amid controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of voter rolls.
A delegation from the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, is currently visiting the poll-bound state and meeting leaders from various political parties to assess ground preparedness.
Bihar Leader of Opposition and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said his party had submitted its concerns and hoped the elections would be conducted fairly.
&ldquo;Our party&rsquo;s representatives have put forward their views. We hope this time the Bihar elections will be fair. Elections should not be held to benefit anyone. In a democracy, the people are the masters and have every right to expect elections in a free and fair environment,&rdquo; Yadav told ANI.
CEC Kumar has instructed district election officers and officials to act with &ldquo;complete impartiality&rdquo; and ensure swift redressal of complaints.
Elections likely after Chhath
After meeting political parties, the poll panel said several leaders had suggested holding the elections after the Chhath festival to ensure higher voter turnout and limit the number of voting phases.
The ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) urged the commission to consider a single-phase election.
&ldquo;We urged the EC to conduct assembly elections in a single phase. It&rsquo;s possible. The state doesn&rsquo;t face any law and order or Naxal problems. If Maharashtra can have single-phase polls, why not Bihar?&rdquo; JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said.
SIR exercise termed &ldquo;historic and successful&rdquo;
The ECI said political parties &ldquo;thanked&rdquo; it for completing the &ldquo;historic&rdquo; Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which &ldquo;purified&rdquo; the electoral rolls. 
They also welcomed the decision to reduce the number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200 for smoother operations.
The controversy began in June when the ECI initiated the SIR process to update Bihar&rsquo;s electoral rolls ahead of the elections. 
In a June 24 letter, the ECI noted that the last intensive revision had taken place in 2003. 
Voters not included in that list were asked to submit one of 11 specific identity documents&mdash;excluding Aadhaar, voter ID, or ration cards&mdash;by July 25.
This directive drew criticism from civil society and political groups. 
Petitioners including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People&rsquo;s Union for Civil Liberties, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, RJD MP Manoj Jha, and activist Yogendra Yadav argued that excluding commonly used documents like Aadhaar and ration cards would disproportionately affect rural and economically weaker voters.

Election officials meet Bihar political party leaders

EC meets Bihar parties, urges fair polls after controversy over Special Intensive Revision

Bihar Gears Up For Polls Amid SIR Row

EC meets Bihar parties, urges fair polls after controversy over Special Intensive Revision

October 5, 2025 | 17:08 IST