NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over Bihar’s SIR and Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of “vote theft”, and the vice-presidential elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that it will hold a press conference on Sunday at the National Media Centre in New Delhi:.The briefing is seen as significant amid speculation that it may address the Bihar voter list controversy, outline compliance with Supreme Court directives, or detail preparations for the vice-presidential election.

SIR row

The SIR exercise, launched on June 24, is the first in Bihar since 2003. The Commission said it was essential to update rolls in light of urbanisation, youth enrolment, and migration. Booth Level Officers were tasked with house-to-house verification to ensure accuracy ahead of the 2025 assembly elections.The ECI published the draft voter list after the SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar on August 1. The final voter list will be released after the one month given for claims and objections. The draft roll for Bihar published by the Election Commission includes 7.24 crore electors who submitted their enumeration forms within the July 25 deadline. Bihar’s electorate, as per the draft roll, is over 65.6 lakh less than its 7.9 crore strength on June 24, 2025, ahead of the onset of the special intensive revision.This figure of 65.6 lakh, made public by EC on July 27 after conclusion of the first phase of SIR, includes 22 lakh dead electors, 36 lakh permanently shifted or absent/untraceable, 7 lakh voters enrolled at more than one place and electors who did not submit their enumeration forms.The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the top poll body to publish, district-wise, details of 65 lakh deleted names from the voters’ list with reasons of non-inclusion to enhance transparency in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar. In another significant directive, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed EC to accept Aadhaar as identity proof from deleted voters applying for inclusion.

‘Vote chori’ allegations

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is set to double down on his “vote chori” allegations as he will embark on a ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar from Sasaram on Sunday, with his party asserting it will fight for the “one man, one vote” principle and not accept the Election Commission becoming a “compartment” of the BJP’s “so-called double engine”.Earlier, on August 7, Rahul Gandhi claimed with “proof” a large-scale “vote chori” in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura seat, citing over one lakh manipulated entries.

Race for VP

Meanwhile, the vice-presidential election was triggered by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on August 4, citing medical reasons. The poll is scheduled for September 9, with nominations closing on August 21, scrutiny on August 22, and withdrawals allowed until August 25.The Election Commission of India (ECI) notified the schedule for the election of the vice president of India.With 781 MPs eligible to vote, a candidate needs 391 votes to win. The NDA, with about 422 MPs, holds a clear numerical edge.