Bengaluru, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
AICC General Secretary and Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday alleged that around 13 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls across 19 states during the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and demanded an immediate halt to the exercise.
Surjewala also called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and sought an independent investigation into the functioning of the poll panel.
“The Election Commission of India has been hijacked. The voter list has been taken over, and the CEC is involved,” Surjewala alleged.
He claimed that the ECI had undertaken SIR in 19 states since June 2025 and that around 13 crore names had been removed from electoral rolls, including 1.43 crore in Karnataka. The figures were presented by Surjewala as part of the Congress’s allegations. Recent reporting has put the number of names struck off draft rolls nationally at more than 13 crore across 30 states and Union Territories, although deletion from a draft roll does not by itself establish permanent disenfranchisement.
Surjewala alleged that the process was being used to target eligible voters and said the right to vote was fundamental to democracy.
He also alleged that the three-member Election Commission had effectively been centralised under CEC Gyanesh Kumar, referring to reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections to certain decisions and communications linked to the SIR exercise. The ECI has disputed the characterisation of an internal split and said its decisions were taken unanimously.
The Congress leader further alleged that control over electoral-roll databases had been centralised, reducing the role of Electoral Registration Officers, District Election Officers and Chief Electoral Officers.
He criticised alleged changes to Form 6, which is used for voter registration, claiming that additional requirements could create difficulties for first-time voters, including members of Generation Z.
Referring to West Bengal, Surjewala said 16 lakh appeals had been filed against voters included in the electoral rolls. According to figures submitted by the ECI to the Supreme Court, however, 38,31,429 appeals were filed in West Bengal, of which 22,21,118 sought restoration of names that had been excluded and 16,10,311 challenged the inclusion of names.
The ECI has also told the Supreme Court that 1,26,194 appeals had been decided by September 16, with more than 37 lakh still pending before the appellate tribunals.
Surjewala demanded an immediate halt to the SIR process, particularly in Karnataka, and called for a comprehensive review of voter deletions since June 2025. He also sought restoration of what he described as the statutory powers of EROs, DEOs and CEOs, along with an independent IT and cyber-forensic audit of electoral-roll databases and systems.
He demanded the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and criminal action if any violations were established. He also called for a special session of Parliament to discuss the functioning of the ECI and the SIR exercise.
Surjewala further demanded that the possibility of holding fresh elections in Bihar and West Bengal be examined, arguing that electoral mandates should be based on complete and legally valid voter lists.
“Voting rights are the foundation of democracy. When voter lists are misused, democracy itself is misused,” he said.
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