Election Commission unveils 17 reforms for Bihar polls, plans nationwide rollout

The Election Commission of India (EC) on Oct 5 announced 17 new measures designed to streamline and modernize the electoral process ahead of Bihar’s forthcoming assembly elections. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said these innovations, first introduced in Bihar, will later be scaled for use in elections across the country.

Among the reforms are the introduction of colour photographs of candidates on EVM ballots, larger serial numbers for easier identification, and compulsory identity cards for booth-level officials.

To reduce crowding at polling stations, the EC has capped the maximum number of voters per booth at 1,200 — down from earlier limits.

Additional polling stations have been added to accommodate this.

Other key changes include mandatory 100% webcasting of polling booths, the establishment of counters outside booths for mobile phone deposits during voting, and faster processing of EPIC (Elector Photo Identity Card) issuance — with the aim to provide EPICs within 15 days of registration under a new standard operating procedure (SOP).

Also, several counting rules have been overhauled: postal ballots will now be counted before the final two EVM counting rounds, and discrepancies between Form 17C (used by agents) and EVM counts will no longer force a blanket recount of all linked VVPATs.

The EC also trained over 7,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and supervisors across India at IIIDEM (India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management).

Remuneration for polling, counting staff, and other personnel has been doubled, according to the EC.

Gyanesh Kumar emphasized that this is the first time in 22 years that Bihar’s voter list underwent a complete “purification” through a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, removing duplicates, ineligible names, and updating data.

The SIR process has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties questioning the timing and scope of removals.

As of now, the term of the Bihar Legislative Assembly ends on November 22, 2025, meaning elections must be held before that date.

The EC met with political parties recently to firm up the schedule and phase structure, with a general consensus leaning toward holding polls after the Chhath festival.