New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has instructed its state-level poll machinery to identify and report individuals suspected of being foreign nationals to the appropriate legal authorities. This directive forms part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The poll panel issued these detailed guidelines to Chief Electoral Officers to streamline voter verification and protect the integrity of the electoral register.
According to the official communication circulated on May 14, Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers will possess independent powers to forward cases of doubtful citizenship to designated authorities under the Citizenship Act of 1955. For voters whose verification forms remain unreturned, Booth Level Officers have been tasked with conducting local inquiries among nearby residents to ascertain whether the individual is dead, duplicate, absent, or permanently shifted from the area.
This directive follows observations made during previous voter list updates. While preparing for a similar intensive revision in Bihar last year, field officials reported encountering several individuals from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar living in the region. Though specific figures or official proof were not publicly disclosed, the reports drew sharp criticism from Opposition groups, who alleged that the verification framework was being utilised for political profiling.
The current Phase-III of the intensive revision was launched across 16 states and three Union Territories, covering a massive voter base of 36.73 crore electors. The staggered field operations commenced on May 30 across multiple regions, including Delhi, Odisha, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Jharkhand. To manage the vast exercise, more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers are undertaking door-to-door verification campaigns, assisted closely by 3.42 lakh political party agents.
The latest phase follows the conclusion of similar updates in major states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, while separate specialized revisions were handled in Assam. The thoroughness of the preceding Phase-II revision resulted in a significant 10.2 per cent reduction in the collective voter register across nine states and three Union Territories. The clean-up drive saw the removal of over 60 lakh deceased individuals, causing the overall electorate across those specific regions to drop from an initial 50.99 crore down to 45.81 crore.
