Bihar Polls: ECI Identifies Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar Nationals In Bihar Voters List, To Be Removed

With only a few months left to Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, political temprature in the state is rising everyday. Before the start of the enthralling contest, Opposition is crying a foulplay stating the Election Commission of India (ECI) is favouring BJP-led NDA by revising the voters list in a biased manner. However, the ECI has cleared its stance saying they won't allow any illeagal voter to participate in Bihar Assembly Elections 2025.

According to media reports, hundreds of foreign nationals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar have already been identified, and their names will be removed after verification.

The Election Commission plans to extend this revision process to five more states: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, before the 2026 elections.

This initiative aims to ensure and conduct free and fair elections with only Indian citizens participating in it.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began on June 25, following a directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued on June 24. The goal is to remove ineligible names and confirm that only Indian citizens are registered voters. This revision will continue until July 26.

Verification Process and Political Reactions

Currently, over 77,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), along with government staff and political party workers, are involved in verifying the credentials of more than 7.8 crore registered voters across Bihar. Both existing and prospective voters have been asked to provide documents that establish their Indian citizenship.

BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya accused opposition parties of trying to include foreign nationals in the voter lists for their "vote bank." He stated that names from countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal were found during the SIR process.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the Election Commission's approach, questioning its authority to determine voter citizenship. He expressed concern about poor individuals being forced to produce documents they might not possess.

Supreme Court Involvement

The Supreme Court recently heard petitions challenging the SIR process in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections. Petitioners included leaders from various opposition parties like Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra and RJD's Manoj Kumar Jha.

The court allowed the SIR to proceed but advised considering widely held documents like Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards for verification alongside other listed documents by the central poll body.