AICC observer Pallam Raju announced a nationwide Congress campaign to protect voting rights, citing concerns over massive, opaque voter list deletions and demanding increased transparency from the Election Commission in the electoral process.
Congress Launches Nationwide Campaign for Electoral Transparency
AICC observer Pallam Raju, addressing a press conference at the KPCC office, said the Congress party is carrying out a continuous struggle across the country to protect the voting rights of common people. He said the party's fight is not limited to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process alone.
"For years, Congress has been raising its voice against the weakening of elections, electoral irregularities, handling of EVMs and VVPATs, and recent changes being made to voter lists," he said. "The Congress party's main demand is that there should be transparency and accountability at every stage of the election process," Raju said.
Concerns Over Voter List Deletions
He said leader Rahul Gandhi has raised questions on electoral irregularities in various states, including Maharashtra, Mahadevapura in Karnataka and Haryana, on several platforms, but no satisfactory answers have been received so far. "Under the SIR process, more than 13 lakh voters' names have been deleted across the country. It is the legal duty of the Election Commission to remove names of deceased voters or those no longer residing in a particular area. But our question is how the deletion process is being carried out. Is there transparency in the process? Is accountability fixed?" he asked.
"If an eligible voter's name is unjustly removed, what is the system to re-add that name? What is the remedy for that voter? Details like why the name was deleted, on whose instruction it was deleted, and on what basis the decision was taken should be made available to the public," he said.
Raju recalled that Rahul Gandhi had held a press conference in February 2025 on irregularities in Maharashtra's voter list. Between the Lok Sabha election and the subsequent Assembly election, 39 lakh voters were added in Maharashtra, whereas only 32 lakh voters were added in the preceding five years. "The Election Commission should clarify why there was such a huge increase in such a short period," he said.
Software and AI Usage Allegations
He said in Karnataka's Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, Rahul Gandhi had flagged issues concerning over one lakh voters, alleging that five types of processes related to addition or deletion of names were used to impact voters. "Recently in Karnataka itself, it has come to light that names of 60,000 to 70,000 voters have been deleted without any proper reason. When officials were questioned, the reply was that names were deleted through software," Raju said.
"If names are deleted by software, how does that software work? What criteria does it follow? Who verifies its decisions? Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has raised questions about this software process. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has demanded that the Election Commission clarify how much transparency there is in the software being used," he said. He questioned whether AI is being used in this process and, if an eligible voter's name is deleted due to a software decision, who is responsible and who will correct the mistake.
Congress Demands and Future Strategy
Referring to a report in The Indian Express, he said there were differences of opinion within the Election Commission and among other election officials and the Chief Election Commissioner over handling of Form-6 during a period of about ten months. "Congress party is committed to protecting the Constitution. Every eligible Indian citizen must have the opportunity to register his name in the voter list. The process of enrolling as a voter should not be made unnecessarily difficult," Raju said.
He said that in West Bengal, about 90 lakh voters' names were deleted, objections were filed for about 60 lakh deletions, and about 27 lakh names were re-added, while about 38 lakh cases are still pending. He listed the party's demands: 1. Complete information about whose names have been removed from the voter list should be made public; 2. Specific reasons for removal of each voter should be disclosed; 3. Which officer or system made the deletion decision should be revealed; 4. The system for appeal and re-enrolment for deleted voters should be clarified; 5. The Election Commission should ensure transparency and accountability in EVM, VVPAT and voter list revision.
Raju alleged that whenever Congress raises serious questions, BJP tries to divert public attention from the core issue instead of giving a direct answer. "Congress has decided to intensify the struggle across the country. Congress leaders and workers will go to every district in the country, identify those whose names have been deleted from the voter list, and help people take necessary steps to re-add eligible voters' names," he said.
Demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner on moral grounds, he said that as demanded by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, elections held in the last two years should be annulled. He also demanded greater transparency in future voter lists. He said the process started in Jharkhand, claiming infiltrators were in the voter list, then SIR was implemented in Bihar ahead of Assembly elections, then continued in West Bengal where about 90 lakh names were deleted, and according to recent statistics in Karnataka, about one crore voter names have been removed.
He noted that the Election Commission recently introduced a simplified Form-6, dropping the requirement to mention where the applicant's father or grandfather had voted. "In our opinion, this change was possible due to the continuous struggle by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party," he said. He said Form-8 is used for correction of name and other details in the voter list, while Form-7 is used to file a complaint to remove someone's name from the voter list. But BJP workers have been caught red-handed trying to extensively misuse Form-7 to delete names of eligible voters, and the Election Commission should take strict action to prevent misuse. Congress party will continue its fight till answers are received and voting rights are protected. "Protection of the Constitution, protection of voting rights and protection of democracy - this is the commitment of the Congress party," he said.
KPCC President BK Hariprasad, AICC Secretary Gopinathan Palaniyappan, AICC Research Department Chairman Rajeev Gowda, Council member Ramesh Babu, Bengaluru District Congress Presidents Sharavana, Hanumantharayappa, Wajid, Manjunath, Mohan Babu and others were present. (ANI)
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