Bhopal, September 28, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Congress on Monday intensified its protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh, with thousands of party workers marching towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in Bhopal and demanding greater transparency from the Election Commission.
Led by Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari, the protesters marched from the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office to the CEO’s office at Arera Hills. Several MLAs, former legislators and senior party leaders from Bhopal and other districts joined the demonstration.
The Congress alleged that 34,25,078 names had been removed from the final electoral roll following the SIR and demanded that the Election Commission release constituency-wise and district-wise details of the deleted names.
According to figures cited by the party, Madhya Pradesh had 5,74,06,143 voters before the revision. The Congress said 42,74,160 names were excluded during the draft stage, while the final electoral roll published on February 21, 2026, listed 5,39,81,065 voters.
Addressing the gathering, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh linked the electoral-roll controversy to the broader issue of free and fair elections, alleging that the Election Commission had not addressed the matter with the seriousness it warranted.
“For a successful democracy, free and fair elections are essential,” Singh said.
He claimed that 13 crore voter names had been deleted across the country during the SIR and alleged that the functioning of the Election Commission had become centralised. Singh also raised questions about the use of an Election Commission application for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls.
“The fight is a long one and we have to continue this struggle. We will have to go among the people and explain to them the path we are passing through,” he said.
The Congress has demanded detailed information on the names removed from the electoral rolls, along with data on claims and objections submitted during the revision process. It has also sought details on the number of minority, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe voters whose names were deleted.
The party’s agitation is also linked to its demand for accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Election Commission has made the SIR electoral-roll database and facilities for searching voter names available through its voter services portal.
Several senior Congress leaders attended the gathering at the PCC office, including Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Singh, former MP Rameshwar Nikhra and former ministers P.C. Sharma, Vijayalaxmi Sadho, Mukesh Nayak, Ravi Joshi and Sanjay Kamle.
MLAs Siddharth Kushwaha, Shobha Oza, Vicky Patel and J.P. Dhanopia were also present.
The Congress described the Bhopal protest as the beginning of a wider mobilisation over electoral-roll issues and said it planned to hold further demonstrations at district headquarters across Madhya Pradesh.
FOLLOW NOW
