CEC credits Bihar electoral roll revision for record voter turnout

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar arrived in Patna on August 16, 2026, beginning a two-day visit to Bihar, where he credited a comprehensive electoral roll revision for the state's record-breaking voter turnout in its last assembly election. Speaking to reporters at the airport, Mr. Kumar stated that the successful Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted in Bihar the previous year was instrumental in boosting participation.

The SIR exercise, which began in phases from Bihar in 2025, involved door-to-door enumeration by Booth Level Officers using prefilled forms. Its aim was to purify and update the electoral rolls by removing deceased, shifted, duplicate, or ineligible entries while protecting genuine voters' rights. Mr. Kumar noted that during the process, approximately 70 lakh names were removed from the state's rolls. Following this revision, the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections recorded a historic voter turnout, which officials said was the highest the state has seen since independence and surpassed rates in several developed nations including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Japan.