Only Biharis will get to vote in Bihar, says BJP

BJP has said that Bihar residents need not be worried about reports of Bangladeshi, Myanmar and Nepali citizens in Bihar's voters' list found by the block level officers (BLOs). The party clarified that no outsider would be allowed to cast their vote in the upcoming assembly elections. "Rohingyas, Bangladeshis, Burmese and Nepalis have been found in the voters' list. Biharis will vote in Bihar to elect the next government. There is no need for the voters of Bihar to be afraid," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told ET.

"No outsider can cast their vote in Bihar. Being a border state, Bihar has had infiltration problems for many years. The ECI is verifying it now."

Hussain said the Opposition has been trying to spread the rumour that Muslim votes would be removed from the electoral rolls. "This is baseless. Valid voters need not be worried. BLOs are visiting every house and genuine voters should present their credentials as sought by ECI. The Opposition in Bihar knows they have lost the election before voting. Now, they are trying to find an excuse for their failures and blaming the EC," he added.

Meanwhile, the Opposition rebuffed the report questioning its authenticity. "Who are these sources? These are the same sources that said that Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore have been captured. SIR was conducted for the last time in 2003 under the UPA government. Since then, we have seen many elections. In those elections, we lost by three to four lakhs. Does that mean all these foreigners voted for PM Modi?" RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said.

"This means the NDA are at fault for any dubious elements' names getting added to the voters' lists. That means all the elections they have won have been a fraud. SIR is a complete eyewash. ECI is working as a cell of a political party."