EC to review voters' lists in six states to weed out illegal immigrants

As part of the intensive review, poll officials will carry out house-to-house verification to ensure an error-free voters' list, starting immediately with Bihar

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to carry out an intensive review of electoral rolls — that is, the voters’ list — this year in six states, beginning with Bihar, to eliminate illegal foreign migrants by checking their place of birth, according to a report from news agency PTI.

 

Assembly elections are scheduled in Bihar later this year, and in five other states — Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal — in early 2026.

 

The move follows crackdowns in various states on illegal immigrants into India, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

 

Eventually, the poll authority will begin special intensive revision across the country “for the discharge of its constitutional mandate to protect the integrity of the electoral rolls”.

 

As part of the review, booth-level poll officials will carry out house-to-house verification to ensure an error-free voters’ list. 

 

In view of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the ECI has decided to conduct its special intensive revision in the state immediately. The last such exercise for the state was conducted in 2003.

 

The terms of the legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal end in May–June next year, and a comprehensive review of the electoral rolls in these states will commence by the end of this year, ECI officials told PTI.

 

Amid allegations by opposition parties that the election body has manipulated voter data to help the BJP, the poll panel has taken additional steps during the revision process to ensure illegal immigrants are not enrolled in the voters’ list at any stage.

 

An additional ‘declaration form’ has been introduced for a category of applicants seeking to become electors or shifting from outside the state. They will have to prove that they were born in India before 1 July 1987, and provide documents establishing date of birth and/or place of birth. 

 

One of the options listed in the declaration form is for those born in India between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004. They will also have to submit documents verifying the date/place of birth of their parents.

 

The ECI said multiple reasons — such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and inclusion of names of foreign illegal immigrants — have necessitated the revision to ensure integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls.

 

While conducting the revision, the EC will scrupulously adhere to the constitutional and legal provisions regarding eligibility to be registered as a voter as well as for disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll, which are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, respectively, the poll authority said.