EC Directs State Poll Officers to Refer Cases of Suspected Foreign Nationals During Electoral Roll Revision

PTI, June 7, 2026, New Delhi: Over 3.94 lakh BLOs will conduct door-to-door verification for 36.73 crore electors during the latest revision exercise.

The Election Commission (EC) has directed its state poll machinery to refer cases of "suspected foreign nationals" to the competent authorities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The EC said that for electors whose enumeration forms had not returned, booth-level officers (BLOs) would identify a probable cause, such as absent, shifted, dead and duplicate entry, based on an inquiry from the nearby electors and would note the same.

In a detailed set of instructions circulated on May 14 to state chief electoral officers on the procedure to be followed during the SIR exercise, the poll authority said, "Electoral registration officers (EROs) will refer cases of suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955. For these purposes, assistant EROs shall exercise ERO's powers independently."

While the EC was preparing for SIR in Bihar last year, its officials had claimed that several nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar were found by its grassroots-level functionaries. However, the poll authority did not share any numbers or proof of such people who were not eligible to be on the voters' list. Opposition parties had dubbed the EC's claims as a ploy to carry out SIR to target electors not aligned with the BJP and its allies.

On May 14, the poll authority had launched Phase III of SIR in 16 states and three Union Territories, involving 36.73 crore voters in a staggered manner starting from May 30. The states and UTs where the exercise is being carried out are Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Punjab, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Telangana are Opposition-ruled states where the SIR of voters' lists will be held.

Over 3.94 lakh BLOs will conduct door-to-door verification for 36.73 crore electors during the latest revision exercise. They will be assisted by 3.42 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties during the enumeration phase.

The schedule for the SIR in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be announced later, keeping weather conditions in snow-bound areas in view. The SIR has already been concluded in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. A "special revision" exercise was conducted in Assam.

The combined voters' list of nine states and three UTs in Phase II of SIR was pruned by 10.2 per cent, with over 60 lakh dead voters removed. The voter base across the 12 states and UTs stood at more than 50.99 crore when Phase II of SIR was announced by the EC on October 27 of last year. Post the exercise, the voters' list stands at 45.81 crore, marking a decline of over 5.18 crore.