In what can be termed as a serious breach of election rules being brought to light, officers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai seized 28 voter ID cards from NRIs during immigration checks.

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election scheduled to take place on January 15, 2026, this alarming trend was exposed, raising red flags in the run-up to the municipal polls.

It was reported that in the past two months, airport officials had intercepted a noticeable number of NRIs carrying Indian voter ID cards along with their foreign passports. The immigration staff shared all the information about the cardholders with the Election Commission of India that is now actively cancelling their voter cards. An investigation into the lapse is underway.

The NRIs were mostly citizens of the US, Australia, and Nepal.

The BMC, which is labelled as India’s richest civic body, will be electing representatives to all 227 seats in the forthcoming election.

Security checks at airports have been tightened during this politically sensitive period. – editor@nrifocus.com