Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar Nationals Found in Bihar Voter List During Revision Drive: Sources

Several individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar have been found in Bihar’s voter list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, sources revealed on Sunday. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stated that these names will not be included in the final list, set to be published on September 30, after a detailed verification is completed post-August 1.

The ECI launched the revision drive on June 25 to cleanse the electoral rolls of ineligible entries, following a directive issued on June 24. The process, which aims to ensure that only Indian citizens remain on the voter list, will continue until July 26 across Bihar, which has over 7.8 crore registered voters.

As part of the exercise, voters have been asked to submit identity documents proving Indian citizenship. Over 77,000 Booth Level Officers, government staff, and political party workers are involved in verifying the voter rolls across the state. Officials have said that any foreign nationals found during the process will be excluded from the final list after proper enquiries.

BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya reacted sharply to the findings, alleging that opposition parties were attempting to add foreign nationals to the voter rolls to build their “vote bank.” Malviya claimed that the RJD, Congress, Left parties, and aligned activists were pressuring the ECI to include these names during the revision process.

Earlier, the Supreme Court heard petitions from opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra and RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha, challenging the ECI’s SIR process in Bihar ahead of assembly elections later this year. The court allowed the ECI to continue the revision while instructing it to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards, along with 11 other documents, during verification.

The ECI clarified that while these documents are part of the documentation process, they do not alone establish eligibility to vote and that further verification remains necessary to confirm citizenship.

Sources in the ECI indicated that the special revision drive would be extended to West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry after Bihar, as elections are due in these states by March or April 2026, with their legislative assemblies completing terms in May.