Upping the ante over its ‘vote theft’ pitchthe Congress on Tuesday (November 18, 2025) mentioned the Election Fee of India’s (ECI) conduct in the course of the SIR course of has been “deeply disappointing” and demanded that the ballot physique should instantly exhibit that it’s not working underneath the BJP’s shadow.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge additionally alleged that the BJP is making an attempt to weaponise the Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls course of for “vote chori”, as he chaired a gathering with key workplace bearers of 12 States and Union territories the place the SIR is underway.
Mr. Kharge, former get together chief Rahul Gandhi, and AICC normal secretary group KC Venugopal participated in a evaluation assembly with State unit chiefs, Congress Legislature Social gathering leaders and secretaries of 12 States and Union territories the place the SIR is underway.
“We held a complete technique evaluation with AICC normal secretaries, AICC in-charges, PCCs, CLPs, and AICC secretaries from the States/UTs the place the SIR course of is underway. The Congress Social gathering is unequivocally dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of the electoral rolls,” Mr. Kharge mentioned on X (previously Twitter) after he chaired the assembly.
At a time when public confidence in democratic establishments is already strained, the Election Fee’s conduct in the course of the SIR course of has been “deeply disappointing”, he mentioned.
“It should instantly exhibit that it’s not working underneath the BJP’s shadow and it remembers its Constitutional oath and allegiance to the folks of India, to not any ruling get together,” Mr. Kharge mentioned.
“We firmly consider that the BJP is making an attempt to weaponise the SIR course of for vote theft. And if the ECI chooses to look the opposite method, that failure isn’t just administrative — it turns into a complicity of silence,” the Congress chief mentioned.
“Our employees, BLOs, and District/Metropolis/Block Presidents will due to this fact stay relentlessly vigilant. We’ll expose each try, nevertheless delicate, to delete real voters or insert bogus ones,” Mr. Kharge mentioned.
The Congress won’t permit democratic safeguards to be eroded by partisan misuse of establishments, he asserted.
After going through a extreme drubbing in Bihar, the place the NDA cruised to victory with 202 seats in opposition to the Mahagathbandhan’s 35, the Congress has questioned the function of the ECI within the ballot course of.
The ECI on Monday (November 17, 2025) mentioned greater than 50 crore of the almost 51 crore electors within the 9 States and three UTs have acquired enumeration varieties underneath the continued SIR of voter listing.
In its day by day SIR bulletin, the ballot authority mentioned 50.11 crore enumeration varieties have been distributed within the 12 States and UTs. In different phrases, 98.32% of the 50.99 crore electors have acquired the partially stuffed varieties.
The States and UTs are: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
Amongst these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026. In Assam, the place elections are additionally due in 2026, the ECI introduced a ‘particular revision’ of electoral rolls on Monday (November 17).
Part II of the SIR train started on November 4 with the enumeration stage and can proceed until December 4. Final week, Rahul Gandhi referred to as the Bihar ballot outcomes shocking, and claimed that the election was not honest from the very starting.
Mr. Gandhi additionally mentioned the Congress and the INDIA bloc would conduct an in-depth evaluation of the outcomes. The Congress additionally claimed that the outcomes, indubitably, replicate “vote theft on a huge scale — masterminded by the Prime Minister, the Residence Minister, the ECI”. Mr. Gandhi’s ballot marketing campaign in opposition to the BJP in Bihar revolved round his “vote chori”(vote theft) allegations.
Printed – November 18, 2025 03:47 pm IST