The Congress on Sunday alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has led to large-scale deletions of voters and accused the Election Commission of conducting an exercise that disproportionately affects economically and socially disadvantaged sections.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh described the SIR as a “Shah Instigated Removal” of voters and an “assault on the Constitution”, using the phrase as an apparent reference to Union home minister Amit Shah.
Ramesh said the Election Commission began Phase 1 of the SIR process in Bihar in June 2025, followed by Phase 2 in November 2025 across nine states and three Union Territories.
According to figures cited by Ramesh, 7.8 crore names were deleted during the first two phases, amounting to a deletion rate of around 13 per cent of the pre-SIR electoral rolls.
Phase 3 began in 16 states and three Union Territories in mid-2026, he said. Citing data from 12 states and two UTs, Ramesh said 6.18 crore voters had been deleted out of a total electorate of 36.06 crore.
“This deletion rate works out to over 17 per cent,” Ramesh said, adding that another 5.43 crore voters had received notices seeking additional documentation to retain their names on the electoral rolls.
He said the voters facing the risk of deletion represented another 15 per cent of the electorate.
“Thus, a staggering 32 per cent, or about one in three voters, have had their names deleted or face risk of deletion,” Ramesh said.
He cited the following figures for voters either deleted or facing the risk of deletion: Delhi 53.73 per cent, Chandigarh 52.58 per cent, Telangana 48.90 per cent, Jharkhand 39.57 per cent, Haryana 37.5 per cent, Uttarakhand 35.71 per cent, Meghalaya 35.36 per cent, Maharashtra 33.88 per cent, Karnataka 27.6 per cent, Odisha 23.67 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 21.17 per cent and Punjab 15.23 per cent.
Ramesh said lists of voters facing possible deletion in Karnataka, Telangana and Jharkhand had been made publicly available to allow electors to verify their names.
He alleged that Delhi published its list only on 19 September 2026, following public pressure, while claiming that other BJP-ruled states and Punjab had not made similar lists public.
The Congress leader further alleged that the deletions were disproportionately affecting voters from economically and socially disadvantaged sections.
“In most major states, more women than men have been deleted from the electoral roll during the SIR process,” he claimed.
Ramesh also criticised the documentation requirements associated with the exercise, arguing that the burden of proving eligibility had been shifted from the state to citizens.
“A test that the overwhelming majority of citizens cannot pass is just a ‘machine for exclusion’,” he said.
Calling the exercise a “Shah Instigated Removal of voters on a massive scale”, Ramesh alleged that the SIR amounted to an assault on the Constitution.
Opposition parties have previously alleged that the SIR could disproportionately affect electors who are not aligned with the BJP and its allies.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the revision is aimed at ensuring accurate electoral rolls by removing ineligible, deceased, duplicate and permanently shifted voters while ensuring that all eligible citizens are included. The Commission has also said voters have opportunities to raise claims and objections during the revision process.
The issue has also reached the courts. In West Bengal, the Election Commission recently told the Supreme Court that 22.21 lakh of the 27.16 lakh voters deleted during the state’s SIR process had appealed against their exclusion.
In Delhi, a petition seeking greater transparency in the issuance of SIR notices to voters is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on 22 September. The petition concerns more than 33 lakh electors who received notices, while over 47 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral roll, according to the petitioners.
The Congress’s latest criticism comes amid an expanding political and legal debate over the scale, methodology and documentation requirements of the nationwide electoral-roll revision.