Opposition protests in Bihar Assembly over electoral roll revision
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Opposition protests in Bihar Assembly over electoral roll revision
Opposition party legislators in Bihar staged a protest for the second consecutive day on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. The protesting legislators raised slogans and demanded a discussion on the SIR exercise, prompting Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav to adjourn the proceedings till lunch. The Election Commission of India declared Bihar as the first State in the country to ensure all polling stations have fewer than 1,200 voters. According to the ECI, 96.23% of voters have been covered in the ongoing revision exercise, while 5.56% were not found at their registered addresses.
The protesting legislators raised slogans and demanded a discussion on the SIR exercise, prompting Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav to adjourn the proceedings till lunch. Holding placards, the MLAs shouted slogans against the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.
On the opening day of the session, July 21, the Opposition had similarly protested the SIR. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, after consultations with other Opposition leaders, had met the Speaker to press for a discussion on the issue. However, the House was adjourned that day after paying condolences to deceased members.
On Tuesday, July 22, legislators from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties gathered at the main entrance of the Assembly wearing black and raised slogans accusing the government of “vote theft” through the revision process.
Later, some of the legislators entered the well of the House, holding placards, leading the Speaker to urge them to return to their seats. A brief verbal exchange was witnessed between the Speaker and RJD leader Alok Mehta, who was requesting to make a statement. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was present in the House during the protest.
“The names of lakhs of voters, mostly from the poor community, are being deleted through the ongoing SIR of the electoral roll in the State. If voting rights of the people are being taken away, how do we, as Opposition legislators, allow the government to run the House?” said Rajesh Kumar, Bihar Congress president and MLA from Kutumba in Aurangabad district.
His party colleague Shakeel Ahmad Khan, MLA from Kadwa in Katihar, and other Opposition leaders expressed similar concerns.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also joined the protest. “SIR will prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Nitish Kumar-led government in the upcoming Assembly elections. Everyone in Bihar today is troubled by the ongoing SIR, and I protest against it along with my party leader Asaduddin Owaisi,” AIMIM’s lone MLA and State president Akhtarul Iman said.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India declared Bihar as the first State in the country to ensure all polling stations have fewer than 1,200 voters. According to the ECI, 96.23% of voters have been covered in the ongoing revision exercise, while 5.56% were not found at their registered addresses.
Assembly elections in Bihar are scheduled for October–November this year.