Thrissur: Slamming the Election Commission for "systematically targeting the democratic values", Congress MP KC Venugopal on Sunday stated that his party is going to reveal the "serious malpractices" of the poll body in Bengaluru on August 5.
Venugopal, speaking to ANI, alleged that the names of many voters have been "excluded" from the draft electoral rolls for Bihar recently released by the EC.
He further said that there will be a get-together of opposition INDIA bloc leaders on August 7 in Delhi.
"There will be a get-together on August 7 in Delhi. INDIA alliance leaders will be there," Venugopal said.
"We are protesting against SIR inside and outside Parliament. The Election Commission is systematically targeting the democratic values of this country. We expected neutrality from the Election Commission, but they are not doing so. The names of many voters have been excluded from the list in Bihar. How can a fair democracy run like this? We are going to reveal the serious malpractices of the Election Commission in Bengaluru on August 5," he added.
ECI released the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on Friday afternoon, following the completion of the Enumeration Phase under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025.
It said the public has one month to submit claims and objections, assuring that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason.
"The draft list, covering all 243 Assembly Constituencies and 90,712 polling booths, was shared with all political parties by the 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) across the state.
The ECI in a press note said, "As per SIR order, after the completion of the Enumeration Phase from 24 June to 25 July 2025, the draft Electoral Rolls have been published for Bihar on 1 August 2025." A detailed list of electors whose names appeared in the June 24 rolls but were missing in the new draft was also shared with political parties for cross-verification.
Additionally, 1.60 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by District Presidents of 12 political parties actively participated in the process on the ground.
The commission enabled electors to verify their names through the official link -- https://voters.eci.gov.in -- using their EPIC numbers. They were also allowed to file claims and objections for inclusion or deletion of names through the same portal. In a drive to ensure accurate and updated voter identity cards, the ECI urged all voters to submit new photographs to their Booth Level Officers (BLOs) by September 1, 2025.
The Election Commission of India is currently conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
The exercise has sparked a political row, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that the revision process could lead to the deletion of a large number of voters.
According to data from the revision exercise in Bihar, around 35 lakh electors have either migrated permanently or could not be traced at their registered addresses. The figures have raised serious concerns about the integrity of the voter list as the Election Commission prepares for a nationwide revision of electoral rolls.
It is also worth noting that a large number of untraceable electors have been found during the SIR in Bihar.
As per government data from 2017, an estimated 2.04 crore Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas are believed to be living illegally in India, adding another layer of complexity to concerns over voter list accuracy. As of January 1, 2024, India had 96.88 crore registered voters for the General Elections, making the outcome of the nationwide revision exercise highly significant.
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