New Delhi/Mumbai, September 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the exclusion of 2.07 crore voters from Maharashtra’s draft electoral rolls prepared under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging serious discrepancies in the state’s voter data.
Gandhi claimed that the deleted voters account for nearly one in every five registered voters in Maharashtra and questioned the consistency of electoral figures recorded during successive revisions.
In a statement posted on X, the Congress leader cited three sets of figures: 9.29 crore voters for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 9.70 crore for the 2024 Assembly elections and 7.78 crore in the 2026 SIR draft roll.
“Which list was correct?” Gandhi asked while alleging that the electoral process was being manipulated to benefit the BJP. He accused the ruling party and the ECI, which he referred to as the “Vote Theft Commission”, of working towards securing electoral victories at the expense of democratic principles.
Gandhi also referred to the addition of 39 lakh voters in Maharashtra between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, reiterating his earlier allegation that the increase represented “vote theft”.
He cited the SIR exercise in West Bengal as another example, claiming that 91 per cent of names deleted there were subsequently restored following appeals, but only after the elections had concluded and a change of government had taken place.
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has separately approached the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), seeking immediate publication of a booth-wise list of voters marked for notices under the SIR exercise.
The party alleged that the draft roll contains “suspicious” or anomalous and unmapped voters without clear markers distinguishing them, creating confusion among voters. It also expressed concern that large-scale hearings could result in wrongful exclusion if Block Level Officers (BLOs) repeat earlier classification patterns.
MPCC General Secretary Advocate Sandesh Kondvilkar said BLOs had not yet received clear instructions regarding constituency-wise procedures for issuing notices and conducting hearings.
Kondvilkar has formally sought the release of the list of voters proposed to receive notices, saying the disclosure was necessary to safeguard citizens’ voting rights.
The allegations and demands come amid the ongoing SIR exercise in Maharashtra, with the Congress seeking greater transparency in the preparation and verification of the electoral rolls.
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