Rahul alleges ‘vote theft’ in multiple states, calls SIR ‘cover-up’ exercise

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the Election Commission’s (EC) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is aimed at concealing and legitimising what he called “vote theft” across several states.

Addressing reporters in Madhya Pradesh’s Pachmarhi hill town, Rahul claimed that large-scale manipulation of voters’ list, similar to what he had earlier alleged in Haryana, may have occurred in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh as well.

“The SIR is not about transparency. It’s a cover-up to make this vote theft appear legitimate and institutional,” he said, calling the exercise a coordinated effort between the BJP and the EC.

The Congress leader arrived in Pachmarhi on Saturday to attend a two-day training camp for the party’s district presidents in Madhya Pradesh. His remarks came a day after the EC launched the SIR exercise across nine states and three Union Territories from November 4, covering nearly 51 crore electors spread over 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly segments.

Rahul reiterated his earlier claim that during the 2024 Haryana Assembly poll, around 25 lakh votes were allegedly “stolen”, which he said amounted to “one in every eight votes”. “After examining the data in Haryana, it became clear that something similar happened in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. This appears to be the BJP and EC’s system,” he said.

He added that his team has gathered substantial evidence and would release more details in phases. “We have a lot of detailed information, and what has been shown so far is just a small part,” the LoP noted.

Taking a direct swipe at the Centre, Rahul accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar (whom he referred to as ‘Gyanesh ji’) of jointly undermining the democratic process. “They are attacking democracy and Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution. This coordinated attempt is damaging Bharat Mata and weakening the soul of the nation,” he alleged.

Responding to another question, Rahul said the Madhya Pradesh training camp had drawn strong feedback from the party’s district presidents and was aimed at strengthening organisational structures ahead of the elections.

Under the SIR exercise, the poll body has deployed more than 5.3 lakh booth-level officers (BLOs), over 10,000 electoral registration officers and 321 district election officers. Additionally, 7.64 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties have been roped in to assist in verifying the rolls. The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 9, while the final list will be released on February 7.

Reacting to Rahul’s allegations, EC officials maintained that his claims were baseless, stating that the Congress leader had raised issues with past elections while simultaneously opposing the current revision meant to rectify errors in voter rolls.

The EC further clarified that Rahul’s charge of voter manipulation in Haryana was “unfounded”, noting that no appeals were filed against the electoral rolls nor were any instances of multiple voting recorded at the time.

Rahul, however, insisted that what he described as “vote theft” represents a deeper threat to the country’s democratic framework. “This is not about one election. It’s about ensuring that India’s democracy remains in the hands of its people, not an institutionally managed system of control,” he said.