ECI press conference: CEC defends poll body, asks parties to flag errors in Bihar voter rolls before Sept 1
Public Lokpal
August 17, 2025
ECI press conference: CEC defends poll body, asks parties to flag errors in Bihar voter rolls before Sept 1
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday pushed back against allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls, with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar asserting that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar was being conducted in a transparent and legally mandated manner.
Addressing a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi—its first media interaction since the launch of the SIR in Bihar—Kumar stressed that the credibility of the voter list and the poll body stood intact. The briefing also came in the wake of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent charge of “vote theft.”
“All political parties are born through registration with the Election Commission. Then how can the Election Commission discriminate among them? For the Commission, all are equal… No matter which party one belongs to, we will not step back from our constitutional duty,” Kumar said.
He pointed out that voters, political parties and booth-level officers (BLOs) had verified and signed documents during the SIR, even submitting video testimonials. These, he claimed, were being ignored by some party leaders to “spread confusion.”
“When more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then neither can any question mark be raised on its credibility nor on the credibility of the voters,” Kumar asserted.
Taking exception to voter photographs being circulated in the media without consent, the CEC said, “Should the Election Commission share CCTV videos of any voter, including their mothers, daughters-in-law, daughters?” His remarks came days after Rahul Gandhi released voter documents to back his “vote chori” allegation.
Defending the electoral process, Kumar cited the scale of operations during polls. “More than one crore employees, over 10 lakh booth-level agents, and 20 lakh polling agents are involved in elections. In such a transparent process, can any voter steal votes?” he asked. He also dismissed double-voting allegations, saying no proof had been provided.
Kumar further reminded that election results could legally be challenged in the Supreme Court within 45 days. “After this period, making such baseless allegations… the people of the country understand the intention behind them,” he said.
On the demand for machine-readable voter lists, the CEC referred to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling, which found such lists could violate voter privacy. “We must understand the difference between a machine-readable voter list and a searchable voter list. What is available on the ECI website today is searchable, not machine-readable,” he clarified.
Explaining the SIR exercise, Kumar said it had been carried out over 10 times in India but not in the last two decades. Its purpose, he said, was to “purify the voter list” amid complaints of duplication. While lakhs of duplicate EPICs were corrected earlier this year, he acknowledged that migration prior to 2003 had led to multiple names for the same voter. “If deletions are done in a hurry, errors can occur. The Commission stands like a rock with the voters,” he said.
Rejecting claims that the revision was being rushed, Kumar said the Representation of the People Act mandates corrections before every election. “The work in Bihar started on June 24 and was completed by about July 20,” he said.
Importantly, he urged all political parties to flag errors in the draft rolls before the September 1 deadline. “After August 1, when our daily bulletins started coming, no political party has lodged a single objection till now. This can only mean two things—either the draft list is completely correct, or parties have not done their homework,” Kumar said.
“I appeal through you that all 12 recognised parties, whether national or state-level, should point out mistakes before September 1. The Commission is ready to correct them. But if similar allegations are raised after September 1, then who is responsible?” he added.
On future plans, Kumar said the three Election Commissioners would decide when the SIR exercise would be extended to West Bengal or other states.