Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that irregularities and bizarre entries in the Uttar Pradesh voter lists are part of a conspiracy to favor the BJP.
Congress Alleges Conspiracy in Voter List Discrepancies
Senior Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday accused the Election Commission of attempting to shift responsibility for alleged irregularities in voter lists onto software, alleging a conspiracy to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In a post on X, Ramesh cited alleged discrepancies in the voter list for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections held on Friday, including entries with names such as ‘Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara’ and ‘Murkh Chandra Yadav’.
"The Election Commission is trying to deflect the blame for a premeditated conspiracy orchestrated to assist the BJP onto the software, which is unacceptable," Ramesh said. Questioning the reliability of electoral rolls, the Congress leader asked how such discrepancies could be ruled out in other elections and asserted that the Election Commission, rather than software, was responsible for ensuring the accuracy of voter lists. "Has the integrity of India's democracy and the voter list been left entirely to the mercy of software and ECINET? The responsibility lies with the Election Commission, not the software," he said.
Concerns Over Electoral Integrity
Ramesh further alleged, "The discrepancies reinforced concerns raised by opposition parties about the functioning of the Election Commission and its adherence to constitutional provisions. He said the poll body was responsible for ensuring that electoral rolls remained free of irregularities and that every eligible voter could exercise their franchise without difficulty".
Allegations of Voter Data Manipulation
Referring to an alleged case of voter data alterations in Pilibhit, Ramesh claimed, "Details of 10,470 voters had been changed through Form 8 without supporting records to justify the changes. He alleged that most of the affected voters belonged to a particular community and raised concerns that the discrepancies could deprive eligible voters of their voting rights".
The Congress leader also cited complaints about names missing from voter lists issued after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and incorrect details appearing during searches using Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers. Ramesh said, "The Election Commission had not provided machine-readable voter data demanded by the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, arguing that access to the complete data was necessary to assess the extent of alleged irregularities and establish accountability".
Calls for Investigation and Resignation
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching in the coming months, Ramesh called for an impartial investigation into whether prescribed procedures for issuing notices and conducting hearings had been followed while adding or deleting names from electoral rolls. "The very SIR, whose declared objective was to purify the voter lists, has instead cast doubts on their reliability," he said, alleging that the BJP had won elections through collusion with the Election Commission. Ramesh also accused the BJP of launching personal attacks against Rahul Gandhi instead of responding to his allegations of vote theft.
The Congress leader demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a halt to what he termed a "fake SIR process", the publication of complete machine-readable voter data and an impartial investigation into electoral rolls. "Our clear demand is that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign immediately, and an immediate halt be imposed on this fake SIR process being run with the intent of benefiting the BJP. An impartial investigation into the voter list must be conducted, the complete machine-readable data must be made public, and the protection of every eligible citizen's voting rights must be ensured", he said.
Samajwadi Party Demands Accountability
Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav called for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to look into the thousands of affidavits gathered by his party concerning alleged electoral malpractices and irregularities. In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister termed recent developments a "good start" and urged the poll body to act on the evidence compiled by the party. "Well, that's a good start—now perhaps the Election Commission will also take cognizance of the thousands of affidavits we've gathered regarding electoral malpractices and scams," Yadav said.
The Samajwadi Party has consistently raised concerns regarding the transparency of the electoral process, frequently alleging voter suppression, administrative bias, and discrepancies during polling in recent elections. The party leadership has claimed that it has documented these alleged irregularities through signed affidavits from affected voters and polling agents across various constituencies. Polling for key Legislative Council constituencies, including the Allahabad-Jhansi Division Graduates' and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Division Teachers' seats, concluded on Friday under multi-tier security arrangements. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 27.
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