As about 25 foreign nationals of various countries, including Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Canada, have been arrested or detained for questioning, details of foreigners who have landed in Tamil Nadu ahead of the April 23, 2026 Assembly elections are being verified to see if they voted. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered an inquiry into allegations of foreign nationals who voted in the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
A report has been sought from returning officers of at least two cities and five districts across the state on how the foreigners managed to vote despite the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), official sources said on Friday (May 15, 2026).
The investigation was launched after many foreign nationals of Indian origin were arrested or detained by law enforcement agencies in Chennai and Madurai for fraudulent casting of votes and immigration officials sent a report to the ECI.
Senior officers overseeing the conduct of the elections were looking into how foreigners’ names were included in electoral rolls even after the SIR, a nationwide exercise to revise the rolls through door-to-door counting. The exercise was expected to result in deletion of names of deceased, duplicate, permanently shifted and non-citizen voters, sources said.
As about 25 foreign nationals from various countries, including Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Canada, have been arrested or detained for questioning, details of foreigners who have landed in Tamil Nadu ahead of the April 23, 2026 elections are being verified to see if they voted.
“Some may have voted and left the country. We have detained a few people after specific entry. The data of foreign arrivals is being analyzed as part of further investigation,” a police officer told The Hindu.
The police arrested those arrested under Sections 172 (personality in election) and 318(2) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, besides Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which makes any false statement in an affidavit an offence, the officer said.
Asked how the names of those who migrated to other countries and acquired citizenship there were not deleted from the rolls, the returning officer said that under the provisions of the SIR, an adult voter can sign an affidavit on behalf of a family member who is not available at home. He said that if a voter is not available to fill in the census form, any adult family member can do so on his behalf.
“It is suspected that this provision may have been misused… We cannot come to any conclusion at this stage. A detailed investigation is on,” said the officer, who did not wish to be quoted. The officer added that the status of fraudulent votes and their impact on the election results will be decided by the ECI.
Published – 15 May 2026 21:52 IST
