Bihar begins enrolling new voters ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha election

Bihar started enrolling new voters on Saturday as part of preparations for the 17th Lok Sabha election due next year, according to the state’s deputy chief electoral officer, Baijunath Kumar Singh. He said residents who turn 18 can also sign up on their own through the National Voters’ Service Portal (NVSP).

Who can apply and by when

Anyone reaching the age of 18 on January 1, 2019 is eligible, and applications will be accepted until October 31. Singh described the exercise as the special summary revision of the photo electoral roll, which is carried out before every major election. Officials have until November 30 to settle claims received during the two-month window, and the final roll is due to be published on January 4 next year.

Updates can also be made through the Bihar chief electoral office’s site, ceo.bihar.nic.in, or the Election Commission’s portal, eci.nic.in. According to the CEO’s office, applicants may also go to their booth level officer, block development officer, electoral registration officer, sub-divisional magistrate, or the district election officer, who is the district magistrate.

• Form-6: enrolment of a new voter
• Form-6A: enrolment of non-resident Indians
• Form-7: deletion of a name, for example after a death
• Form-8: correction of errors in a voter’s entry
• Form-8A: moving a name to another polling station in the same assembly constituency

Machines and training

Sources said electronic voting machines and VVPAT units had reached every district of Bihar roughly two weeks earlier. A one-day workshop for district and deputy election officers is planned in Patna on September 5, with EVM and VVPAT training in the first half and sessions on helping voters with physical disabilities in the second. Some district magistrates said Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat might attend to review preparations, but Singh said he could not yet confirm who would visit.

What happened next

The 2019 Lok Sabha election was held between 11 April and 19 May 2019 and counted on 23 May. The BJP won 303 of 543 seats and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Elections and constituencies.

Originally published on 3 September 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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