Survey finds foreign nationals on Bihar voter list; EC to probe authenticity

Mangalore Today News Network

Patna, July 13, 2025: A door-to-door verification drive under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls has uncovered the presence of several individuals originally from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar residing in the state and allegedly registered as voters.

According to sources in the poll body, these individuals have managed to acquire Indian documents such as Aadhaar cards, domicile certificates, and ration cards—raising concerns over fraudulent enrollment through illegal means.

Block Level Officers (BLOs), who are conducting household surveys as part of the revision, have flagged numerous such cases. Detailed investigations are set to take place between August 1 and 30. If these allegations are substantiated, the names of ineligible voters will be removed from the rolls, sources confirmed.

The findings have intensified the political debate in the poll-bound state, where Assembly elections are due later this year. The SIR, launched on June 24, is aimed at updating voter rolls by including eligible citizens and eliminating ineligible entries. This is the first such revision in Bihar since 2003.

The Election Commission has cited factors like urbanisation, internal migration, youth turning 18, unreported deaths, and alleged inclusion of foreign nationals as justification for the revision.

However, Opposition parties, including the RJD and Congress, have questioned the timing of the exercise. Alleging a conspiracy to exclude certain voter segments, they have accused the Commission of acting with political bias. The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision, questioning why the Opposition is concerned if the process ensures voter list accuracy.

The issue has also reached the Supreme Court. Petitions challenging the voter list revision have been filed by RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms, PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, and former MLA Mujahid Alam.

During the court hearing on Thursday, the legitimacy of documents used to verify voter identity was a key point of discussion. While the Election Commission stated that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, the apex court observed that Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter ID cards should be considered valid documents for re-verification. The court has not stayed the ongoing revision.