The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, ripped into the Election Commission of India on Sunday, charging that its current Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is a mechanism to “cover up and institutionalise vote theft.”
Addressing reporters in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, where he attended a training camp for district Congress presidents, Gandhi said that the SIR process utilised to manipulate the voter lists in favor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The camp was part of Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan, the Congress’s nation-wide organisational restructuring initiative.
“Vote chori is the issue, and the SIR is now about covering it up and institutionalising the system.” Rahul Gandhi said, “Democracy and Ambedkar ji’s Constitution directly attacked. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, and Gyanesh ji are doing this in a joint partnership and it is hurting the nation badly.
Rahul Gandhi Blasts Election Commission, BJP
The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, that began on November 4, 2025, covers nine States and three Union Territories, of which Madhya Pradesh is a part, in an exercise to verify and update the electoral rolls of over 51 crore voters.
However, Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of bias and alleged that the SIR exercise carried out to legitimise large-scale voter deletions. Rahul Gandhi vote theft SIR, Citing examples from Haryana, he claimed that “25 lakh votes stolen — one in every eight votes.”
“A few days ago, I gave a presentation on Haryana, and from that, it became quite evident that vote theft was in play. Looking at the data, I believe the same thing happened in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. This is the system of the BJP and the Election Commission,” he said.
The Congress leader’s remarks come after the first phase of the SIR in Bihar, which saw the deletion of over 68 lakh names from the electoral rolls as per reports – a move the opposition has called politically motivated.
‘Attack on Democracy and Constitution’
He further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were “jointly attacking democracy and the Constitution of India.” He said that such actions were eroding the democratic foundations laid by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
“My issue is that democracy is being attacked, Ambedkar’s Constitution is being attacked. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, and Gyanesh ji are doing this directly by forming a joint partnership. Because of this, Bharat Mata harmed,” Gandhi said.
He further said, “The Congress party has gathered “a lot of different, very detailed information” regarding the alleged manipulation of voter lists. “We have only shown a little so far, but more evidence will released gradually,” he added.
Congress’s Organisational Reboot
In Pachmarhi, Gandhi met party leaders and workers as part of the Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan being undertaken by the Madhya Pradesh Congress to strengthen the organisation at the district level in view of forthcoming assembly elections due in Bihar and some other states. After the Madhya Pradesh trip, Gandhi is likely to continue with campaigning in Bihar.
Sources in the party said the training camp focused on booth management, voter outreach, and countering the alleged irregularities in the revision of the electoral rolls. Gandhi also received “positive feedback” from the local leaders on the party’s strategy at the ground level and future electoral plans. https://eci.gov.in
Background of the SIR Controversy
SIR is a regular exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India to check the validity of the electoral rolls before major elections. This involves adding new names, editing errors, and deleting duplicate or invalid entries. Opposition parties have now accused the ruling party of indulging in the selective use of the SIR process to keep legitimate voters out in certain constituencies.
While the ECI has defended the exercise, saying that it was routine and an essential feature to maintain electoral integrity, the Congress and other opposition parties claimed that the quantum of deletions, especially in states like Bihar and Haryana, raises very serious questions about transparency and impartiality. Conclusion Rahul Gandhi’s latest remarks in Pachmarhi add to his ongoing campaign accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of colluding to manipulate the voter data ahead of elections. By linking the SIR of electoral rolls to what he calls “vote theft,” Gandhi has sharpened the opposition’s narrative that India’s democratic institutions are under threat. As the ECI proceeds with the SIR across many states, the controversy looks set to escalate, with the Congress planning to release what it described as “detailed evidence” of voter manipulation over the coming weeks.
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