Patna: Bihar became the first state in the country to have all polling stations (PS) with less than 1,200 electors, the Election Commission (EC) said here on Monday.Altogether 12,817 new polling stations have been added in the state to prevent long queues of electors at the polling stations, the poll body said.The EC said the earlier ceiling of having 1,500 electors per polling station was revised to 1,200. After adding 12,817 new polling stations, the total number of such stations in the state would now go up to 90,712 from the earlier 77,895. “This major achievement of Bihar is to be followed by other states and Union territories,” the EC said.The commission further revealed that the poll officials, including the chief electoral officer (CEO), district election officer (DEOs), electoral registration officers (EROs) and booth level officers (BLOs), have held a series of meetings with the representatives of all political parties and have shared detailed lists of the 29.62 lakh electors whose forms have not been received so far. The poll officials also shared details of the nearly 43.92 lakh electors who were not found at their addresses.“All the 12 major political parties have also been requested to connect with these remaining electors, through their district presidents and nearly 1.5 lakh booth level agents (BLAs). This is to ensure that the entire election machinery, including the political parties, works together on a mission mode so that no eligible elector is left out from the draft electoral roll to be published on Aug 1, 2025,” the commission said.“From Aug 1, any member of the public can file objections for any additions/deletions/rectification in draft electoral rolls, in accordance with the SIR order dated June 24 this year,” the commission said.Out of the 43.92 lakh electors not found at their addresses in Bihar during the ongoing SIR, 16.55 lakh are reported to be deceased, 19.75 lakh are believed to have permanently shifted, 7.5 lakh electors are enrolled at multiple places, and only 11,484 electors are not traceable, the commission said.
