A startling revelation has emerged from Bihar’s ongoing electoral roll revision process as field-level officials of the Election Commission (EC) have discovered a significant number of foreign nationals—allegedly from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar—during door-to-door verification, senior officials said on Sunday.
These findings were made by booth-level officers (BLOs) during the fourth phase of the EC’s special drive to clean up the voters’ list in Bihar, a state headed for polls later this year. Officials stated that a detailed inquiry will commence after August 1, and illegal migrants will be barred from inclusion in the final electoral roll, which is scheduled to be released on September 30.
The presence of such individuals has raised serious concerns, especially as multiple states, including Assam and West Bengal, have intensified crackdowns on illegal immigrants.
The EC is preparing for a nationwide special intensive revision of electoral rolls to eliminate non-citizens by verifying individuals’ places of birth and residency status. In Bihar, the draft electoral roll will be published on August 1 and will only include individuals who submitted valid forms by July 25.
Only Indian citizens aged 18 and above, as defined under Article 326 of the Constitution, are eligible to be enrolled. Electoral officers will rigorously scrutinize all applications to ensure compliance with these criteria.
Recognised political parties will receive free copies of the draft roll, which will also be made available on the EC’s website. Electors who miss the initial deadline may still apply during the claims and objections period (August 1 to September 1) by submitting Form 6 with a declaration. Booth-level agents can continue filing up to 10 applications daily.
Objections to existing entries can also be filed during this period. Crucially, no name will be removed from the roll without a proper inquiry and a fair hearing for the individual concerned.
The EC aims to publish the final updated electoral roll on September 30, just ahead of the assembly elections.
