Bengaluru, September 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday accused the Election Commission of being a “partner in vote theft” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and demanded the dissolution of the poll panel along with the cancellation of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Addressing a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Shivakumar alleged that the Election Commission had become a “puppet” of the BJP and was targeting poor voters and people critical of the administration.
“The Election Commission has become a puppet of the BJP. The names of poor voters and those who criticise the administration are being targeted. They have become partners in vote theft along with the BJP,” he said.
Shivakumar urged President Droupadi Murmu to intervene and dissolve the Election Commission. He also demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and cancellation of elections that he alleged had been conducted illegally.
He further called for the ongoing SIR exercise to be scrapped and a fresh revision undertaken. Referring to reported differences within the poll panel, Shivakumar alleged that members appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had acted independently and opposed decisions of the CEC.
The Karnataka Congress has been opposing the SIR exercise, which began with 5.54 crore electors on the rolls as of June 16. The draft electoral roll published in August listed 4.46 crore electors, while more than 1.07 crore electors were placed in the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category. The Election Commission has clarified that placement in the ASDDO category does not by itself amount to permanent deletion and that the revision process includes verification and opportunities for claims and objections.
Shivakumar claimed that notices had been issued to 30-40 lakh people and alleged that the exercise had resulted in large-scale exclusion. He also referred to Bengaluru Central and Mahadevapura, alleging discrepancies in voter numbers and claiming that votes had been “misused”.
“The right to vote is the right of every individual. Voting is the greatest opportunity our Constitution gives citizens through the democratic system. We will not allow this right to be taken away,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the Congress would take its campaign against SIR to villages across Karnataka. He also said the state government planned to hold local body elections in November-December and had decided to use ballot papers for those polls.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, continues to describe itself as an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering electoral processes, while its voter-services portal provides facilities related to SIR-2026, including access to electoral rolls and submission of documents against notices.
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