The Congress on Wednesday alleged large-scale irregularities in electoral process across various states, claiming that voter deletions, roll revisions and institutional mechanisms were being used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a coordinated manner to influence election outcomes.
Addressing a press conference, spokesperson of the grand old party Pawan Khera said the country was passing through a “serious phase” where attempts were being made to undermine democratic processes. He alleged that voter list revisions, delimitation exercises and “vote theft” were being used together as tools to alter electoral outcomes. “It is a three-pronged approach — vote theft, Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and delimitation. After the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a plan was put in place to weaken the electoral system,” Khera said.
The Congress pointed to developments in West Bengal and Assam, claiming that electoral roll revisions had led to large-scale vote deletions. According to the party, lakhs of voters were removed during recent revision exercises, with many allegedly not given an opportunity to contest their exclusion. It called for an independent audit of the process.
Khera said during the SIR in West Bengal, a staggering 91 lakh voters were deleted from the rolls, while 27 lakh citizens were denied even the basic procedural right to be heard before any tribunal. “In at least 50 constituencies, the number of deleted voters exceeded the winning margin itself, rendering the declared results structurally pre-decided. It is premeditated electoral engineering," Khera claimed.
“It (BJP) has weaponised the so-called SIR as a tool to snatch away the fundamental Right to Vote. Under the SIR, electoral rolls have been selectively manipulated in election-bound states. The Election Commission of India has effectively been reduced to a mechanism executing this design. Across 12 states, 7.2 crore voters have been deleted, amounting to 10.2% of India’s entire voter base being wiped out," claimed Khera.
Backing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Congress said Opposition parties under the INDIA bloc were aligned in raising concerns over what it described as a broader pattern affecting electoral processes.
The allegations were not limited to eastern states. The Congress cited instances from Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra to argue that discrepancies in voter rolls and polling data pointed to systemic issues. It referred to reported cases of duplicate or questionable entries in electoral rolls and flagged sudden changes in voter turnout figures in some elections.
In addition, the Congress accused Central agencies and administrative mechanisms of being used to exert pressure on Opposition leaders and parties, affecting the broader political environment in which elections are conducted.
