Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (August 16, 2026) said that the ‘successful’ conduct of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar last year helped to increase the voter turnout in the State Assembly election that followed.
Mr. Kumar landed in Patna on Sunday (A) for a two-day visit to Bihar. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Manish Garg (Senior Deputy Election Commissioner), Ashish Goyal (Director General — Media), Seema Khanna (Director General – IT) and other senior officials of the Commission.
Thanking the voters of Bihar, at a press conference at the airport, the CEC said he had come to pay his respects to the sacred land of Bihar.
He asserted that SIR was the most successful nationwide initiative for the purification of electoral rolls and it originated in Bihar. The voter turnout during the last Assembly election was the highest recorded since Independence—surpassing even the turnout rates of several developed nations such as France, Japan and Spain.
Acknowledging Vaishali in the Stateas the ‘mother of democracy’, he said, “Bihar is the land where Vaishali, the birthplace of democracy, is located. It is a matter of pride that the SIR was successfully conducted here for the first time.”
It is said that Lichhavi Clan (6th to 4th century BCE) had established one of the world’s earliest known republics in Vaishali long before democratic systems emerged.
The CEC said the SIR exercise resulted in around 70 lakh names being removed from the electoral rolls. “The revision was followed by the Assembly elections, which recorded a significant rise in voter turnout,” he said.
Mr. Kumar is scheduled to visit Vaishali, Madhubani and Sitamarhi during his visit. On Monday (August 17), he will interact with around 500 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) at Nalanda University in Rajgir.
Upon his arrival at the Patna airport, he was welcomed by Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, Patna District Magistrate Kundan Kumar and Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikey Kumar Sharma.
Published – August 16, 2026 11:23 pm IST
