Bihar: ECI prepares to issue new voter ID cards with old number, fresh photo

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) On the eve of the likely release of the final electoral rolls for the Bihar Assembly poll, election office sources said on Sunday that new election identity cards with the latest photos will soon be issued to the nearly 7 crore state electors.

The new voter cards will retain the existing Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, but the name of the voting booth may be changed as the number of booths in the state has been increased for voters’ convenience, said a source.

The release of the final voter list marks a key milestone as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. During the enumeration phase of the SIR held from June 24 to July 25, more than 7.24 crore electors -- out of a total of 7.89 crore -- submitted their details. The draft rolls, however, showed about 65 lakh voters missing.

Election office sources said that in the final list to be released on Monday, the number of missing voters is likely to increase beyond 65 lakh.

Earlier on Sunday, the ECI refuted allegations made in a recent media report claiming large-scale duplication in Bihar’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a statement, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar clarified that the draft rolls published under the SIR 2025 are provisional in nature and explicitly meant for public scrutiny.

“Any alleged duplication at this stage cannot be construed as a final error,” the statement by CEO Bihar said on X, stressing that the law provides for objections, verification, and correction before final publication.

Addressing the figure of 67,826 “dubious duplicates” cited in the report, the CEO argued that it “is based on data-mining and subjective matching of name/relative/age combinations”, adding that, “These parameters, without documentary and field verification, cannot conclusively prove duplication.”

In June, the Election Commission of India (ECI) introduced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that will ensure Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) are delivered within 15 days of any update in the electoral rolls.

The reform is part of a series of citizen-centric measures being rolled out by the ECI under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi.

The initiative is aimed at minimising delays, enhancing transparency, and delivering efficient, timely, and trackable voter services.

Under the new SOP, the entire process -- from the generation of the EPIC by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to its delivery at the voter’s doorstep -- will be digitally tracked. Voters will receive real-time SMS updates at every stage of the delivery process.

--IANS

rch/uk