Amid row over declaration by voters, EC officials say 2.37 crore new electors added in 18-28 age group

Amid a row over the Election Commission adding a declaration to the form for new voters seeking to enrol in the electoral rolls and making the registration process difficult, poll panel officials said on Friday that as many as 2.37 crore electors in the 18-28 years age bracket were added since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was rolled out in Bihar last June.

After the change in the online form, it's not only the existing voters who must show details of their parents in SIR to remain on the electoral rolls, those seeking inclusion in the voter list also have to cite details of the exercise.

By issuing instructions, the Election Commission has made it mandatory to attach SIR details of parents for new voters filling Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls .

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A poll panel functionary underlined that the declaration was added through instructions and that Form 6 has not been amended.

The declaration was added in the Bihar SIR rolled out in June last year. New voters were made to file the declaration along with Form 6.

EC officials said that since June 24, 2025, 2.37 crore new voters in the 18 to 28 age category have been added to the voter list across India.

As of now, there are 17.38 crore voters in that age bracket.

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected to these changes, calling them "illegal" and "unauthorised", arguing that they would negatively impact new voters, The Indian Express recently reported.

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Daily SIR bulletins for Bihar showed the forms filled along with the declaration, an EC functionary said.

"It helps in mapping electors and reduces documents the new voters need to submit along with their applications," the officer added.

If a person fills up Form 6 online, he or she cannot proceed further till the declaration is filled.