‘Vote theft going official,’ Rahul hits out at SIR drive

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being used to “cover up and formalise vote theft” in multiple states. Speaking to reporters in Pachmarhi, he claimed that the same pattern of alleged voter manipulation observed in Haryana could be present in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh as well.

Gandhi, who is in the hill town to attend a training programme for Congress district presidents, said that during his recent review of Haryana voter roll data, he found what he described as “large-scale inconsistencies”. According to him, “25 lakh votes were stolen, which means nearly one in every eight votes was manipulated.”

“After looking at the data from Haryana, I believe the same thing has happened in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. This is a system of vote theft carried out jointly by the BJP and the Election Commission,” he alleged. He claimed his party has more evidence and will release it in stages.

The Election Commission began the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on November 4 across nine states and three Union Territories, covering around 51 crore voters. Over 5.3 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents of political parties, and more than 10,000 electoral registration officers are currently engaged in the exercise. The draft rolls will be issued on December 9 and the final list will be out on February 7.

Controversies surrounding SIR:

The SIR exercise has drawn varied reactions from political parties across states.

In some constituencies, opposition parties have alleged that door-to-door verification has not been uniform, leading to concerns that genuine voters, particularly migrant workers, tribals, and minority groups, could be removed from the rolls.

Civil society groups have also raised questions about the reliance on Aadhaar-linked verification, arguing that errors in Aadhaar data can affect voter eligibility. Additionally, in certain states, political parties have accused booth-level officials of bias or lack of transparency in the deletion and addition of voter entries.

However, the Election Commission has rejected these allegations and maintained that SIR is aimed at correcting inaccuracies, removing duplicate entries, and ensuring that no ineligible names remain. It has advised parties to register complaints formally rather than making public accusations.

Responding to whether more details will be released, Gandhi said, “We have very detailed information. Right now, only a little has been shown.” He claimed the alleged manipulation is an attack on democracy and the Constitution, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Election Commissioner of acting "in partnership".

Meanwhile, Election Commission officials have dismissed Gandhi’s allegations as “unfounded”. They pointed out that no formal appeals were filed by the Congress against the Haryana rolls and no complaints of multiple voting were recorded during polling. Gandhi had earlier described the 2024 Haryana Assembly polls as “stolen”.

Gandhi also said the response to the ongoing Congress organisational training in Madhya Pradesh has been positive.