New Delhi: While the Election Commission of India (ECI) has indicated the presence of a "large number" of foreign nationals in a poll-bound state, back in 2019, the ECI had told the Parliament that there were hardly any cases of "foreign nationals" on electoral rolls over the last few years, reported Economic Times.

The ECI had said that only three such cases had come up in 2018.

A Parliament question on July 10, 2019, asked whether there are "cases of inclusion of names of foreign nationals in voters list during the last three years and current year" and was any action taken.

In its reply, the ECI stated that "no such case has come to its notice in 2016, 2017 and 2019". There were just three such complaints received in 2018: one each from Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat, reported ET.

The ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar assembly elections has been slammed by Opposition parties, with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accusing the Election Commission of working at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"There are very few complaints on citizenship across various types of electoral revisions and most of them would refer to 1-2 individuals. Never have we got complaints of a large number of foreign nationals making it to the electoral roll. Most claims and objections, during revision, in fact are due to deaths and shifting," ET quoted a former chief election commissioner (CEC).

Clause 5(b) of the ECI’s June 24, 2025, directive regarding the SIR allows local Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to refer anyone they suspect of being a foreign national to citizenship authorities.

Having outlined the procedure for an ERO or an assistant ERO to follow in cases where a proposed elector’s eligibility is in doubt, the clause says that the ERO “will refer cases of suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955”.

It adds that “for these purposes, the AERO shall exercise [the] ERO’s powers independently u/s [under section] 13C(2) of the RPA [Representation of the People Act] 1950”.

Legal experts and rights analysts warn this turns a routine update into a ‘backdoor NRC’ (National Register of Citizens), putting the fate of India’s poorest people in the hands of local officials with vast, unchecked power.

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