Congress leader Sudarsan Das accused the ECI of deleting minority voters in Odisha’s Jaleswar constituency, alleging collusion with the BJP. He claimed to have audio and video recordings to substantiate his allegations of voter list manipulation.
Allegations of Voter Deletion in Jaleswar
Congress leader Sudarsan Das accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of systematically deleting voters from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that minority voters were specifically targeted in his Jaleswar constituency in Odisha. Das on Thursday claimed that he had documents, audio recordings and video footage to substantiate his allegations and demanded action against those allegedly involved in the deletion process.
“I have verified, I have documents, I have video recordings, I have audio recordings, where the authorities who are in charge of SIR, having connivance with the BJP leaders and workers, have tried to delete these minority community voters,” Das told reporters. He alleged that several voters in Jaleswar-35 were removed from the electoral rolls through Form 7. “In some booths like 102, I found that 63 voters have been deleted under Form 7. Likewise, in booth number 251, 107 voters have been deleted using Form 7,” he said.
Das claimed that many of those affected belonged to minority communities and had been voters since 2002. He questioned the basis on which applications seeking their deletion were submitted. “Our question was, who made these applications before the authorities? Appropriate action must be taken against them,” he said.
The Congress leader further alleged that around 20.12 lakh voters had been deleted during the SIR process in Odisha. He demanded strong action against those responsible for the alleged deletions in Jaleswar. “I have proof, I have audio recording, I have video recording, that how the person concerned, the GPO of the block and the BJP people, they are discussing how to delete. I have the record,” Das said.
ECI Internal Dissent and Official Response
Das also criticised the ECI over reported internal differences concerning its functioning and electoral roll management, alleging that the poll body was compromising democratic processes. The attack follows an investigative report by The Indian Express, which revealed that two sitting Election Commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi – had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding procedures, database changes, and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
Meanwhile, the ECI maintained that ECINet is a decentralised platform operated by designated election officials under the Representation of the People Acts and that no unauthorised official can perform or override statutory functions on the platform. (ANI)
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