India's top election body finds Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals in Bihar voter list: Report

During the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar, officials have reportedly found that many residents from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar had also been enlisted. After checking their details, authorities have decided that these individuals, currently living in the state, will not be included in the final voter list, set to be released on September 30.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) kicked off the SIR on June 25, after a directive was issued by the body on June 24. The goal is to clean up the voter lists by removing ineligible names and making sure only Indian citizens are registered. This process will continue until July 26.

As part of the SIR, the ECI initially required all voters to submit identity documents, including proof of Indian citizenship.

Over 77,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), along with government workers and political party members, are checking the details of more than 7.8 crore registered voters across Bihar. Both current and new voters have been asked to show documents proving they are Indian citizens.

Ruling BJP criticised opposition parties

Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT Cell, criticised opposition parties, claiming they are trying to add foreign nationals to the voter lists to boost their “vote bank.”

Malviya wrote, “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."

He also accused the RJD, Congress, Leftists, and their supporters—including some journalists, YouTubers, NGOs, and legal activists—of pressuring the ECI to include these names.

Earlier, the Supreme Court reviewed several petitions challenging the ECI’s SIR process in Bihar ahead of this year’s assembly elections.

The petitioners included opposition leaders like Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha, Congress’s KC Venugopal, and Supriya Sule from the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), among others.

The court allowed the ECI to continue the SIR but suggested using widely held documents like Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards for verification, in addition to the 11 documents already listed by the ECI.

The ECI later clarified that these documents are already part of the SIR verification process, but don’t automatically prove someone’s eligibility to vote.