Foreign nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar have been identified during an ongoing electoral verification drive in Bihar, triggering concerns about voter roll integrity ahead of the 2025 Assembly Elections.
The names were flagged during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, launched on 25 June by the Election Commission of India (ECI), with the objective of eliminating ineligible entries. Sources familiar with the development confirmed that following scrutiny beginning 1 August, names of such individuals will be excluded from the final voter list due on 30 September.
The poll body has deployed over 77,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and auxiliary staff to examine the credentials of approximately 7.8 crore voters in Bihar. Both existing and new voters have been directed to furnish documentary evidence of Indian citizenship.
As the verification process proceeds, the ECI has reiterated that identity documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards will be considered but will not, in themselves, suffice to establish voting eligibility.
“The voter list in Bihar has been found to include names of foreign citizens from countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal. This revelation came during the Special Intensive Revision,” BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya posted on social media.
Also read: Congress lists 5 objections to Bihar SIR
He further alleged that opposition parties including the RJD, Congress, and Left, along with their “drum-beating journalists turned YouTubers, NGOs, and so-called legal activists,” were lobbying the ECI to retain such names to bolster their vote banks.
The ECI’s revision exercise had previously been challenged in the Supreme Court by a group of opposition leaders, including Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress), Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD), KC Venugopal (Congress), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP). The court allowed the revision to continue but advised the ECI to take a wider set of identification documents into account while verifying voter identity.
While the ECI maintained that its list of 11 prescribed documents was already in use, it clarified that holding any such document would not automatically establish eligibility to vote.
Following the conclusion of the revision in Bihar on 26 July, the same process will be initiated in five other states: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Legislative elections are due in these regions before May 2026.