Rahul to lead Opposition charge on electoral reforms in Lok Sabha

The Congress is gearing up for a pointed intervention in the Lok Sabha’s debate on electoral reforms, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi set to anchor the charge on Tuesday.

The party is expected to centre its arguments on alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and what it describes as systemic vulnerabilities in the Election Commission’s oversight.

Party sources said the Congress had finalised its list of speakers for the three-day discussion across both Houses. In the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi will be supported by KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, Varsha Gaikwad, Mohammed Jawaid, Ujjwal Raman Singh, Isha Khan Choudhury, Mallu Ravi, Imran Masood, Gowaal Padavi, and Jothimani.

In the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge will articulate the party’s stand when the Upper House takes up the subject between Tuesday and Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi’s address is expected to underline the Opposition’s contention that the SIR process has seen widespread discrepancies, from wrongful deletions and duplicate entries to inconsistent verification practices across states. These concerns have featured prominently in his recent campaigns in Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka, where he has alleged attempts at “vote theft” through distortions in voter rolls.

Another theme the Congress plans to foreground is the pressure on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the re-verification exercise.

Over recent months, the deaths of several BLOs, some by suicide, others under circumstances still being probed, have sparked alarm among field-level staff. Multiple BLOs have complained of excessive workload and deadlines they said were impossible to meet, prompting the Opposition to call for a review of the SIR’s implementation framework. As the debate will stretch through mid-week, the Congress is expected push for stronger safeguards in voter roll revision, heightened transparency, and clearer accountability mechanisms within the Election Commission.

Rahul Gandhi’s intervention is likely to set the tone for the party’s broader demand for systemic reform.

Meanwhile, according to the Election Commission bulletin on Sunday, the enumeration phase, underway from November 4 to December 11, has reached near-total coverage in the distribution of elector-specific Enumeration Forms (EFs).

Across 12 states and Union Territories, 99.94 per cent of electors have received their EFs, amounting to 50.94 crore forms successfully delivered to households. Kerala, which is following an extended schedule, will continue accepting EFs till December 18, while all other states and UTs will close submissions on December 11.

The Election Commission noted that more than 50 crore forms, representing 98.22 per cent of the total, have already been digitised.