The BJP has rejected the Congress’ allegation that more than 13 crore voters were simply deleted from electoral rolls during the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying the figure cited by the opposition does not represent final deletions.
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the 13.3 crore names excluded from the draft electoral rolls comprise several categories, including deceased voters, people who had shifted residence, duplicate entries and voters who could not be traced.
According to the break-up cited by Trivedi, around 2.8 crore names belonged to deceased voters, while approximately 6.3 crore people had shifted from their registered addresses. Another 1 crore entries were identified as duplicates, while nearly 3 crore voters could not be traced during the verification process.
BJP QUESTIONS CONGRESS ALLEGATIONS
Trivedi questioned the Congress’ opposition to the verification exercise and asked whether the party wanted names of absent, shifted, deceased or duplicate voters to remain on the electoral rolls without verification.
His comments came as Congress and other opposition parties intensified their protest against the Election Commission over the SIR exercise. The Opposition has demanded restoration of the names excluded from the draft rolls and has raised concerns over the impact of the revision on genuine voters.
The controversy centres on the 13.3 crore names that were not included in the draft electoral rolls prepared as part of the SIR exercise across 30 states and Union Territories.
EC SAYS FINAL FIGURES YET TO BE DETERMINED
The Election Commission has maintained that the 13.3 crore figure should not be described as the final number of deleted voters. According to the poll panel, the final electoral rolls will be determined only after claims, objections and appeals submitted during the revision process have been examined.
The BJP has also pointed out that eligible voters whose names were left out can seek inclusion in the electoral rolls through the prescribed procedure, including submission of Form 6 for voter registration.
The Election Commission has separately directed states and Union Territories where the SIR process has been completed to conduct special enrolment drives to ensure that eligible voters who were left out can apply for inclusion.
BJP REVIVES VOTER DUPLICATION ISSUE
During his press conference, Trivedi also referred to previous statements by Congress leaders concerning duplicate voter entries. He cited remarks made by Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders in earlier years about alleged voter duplication.
Trivedi questioned the Congress over what he described as a change in its position, asking whether the party’s earlier concerns about duplicate voters were valid or whether its current objections to the SIR exercise represented its correct position.
The dispute over the electoral rolls is now at the centre of a wider political confrontation between the BJP-led government, the Congress and other opposition parties, with the final outcome of the claims and objections process expected to determine how many names are ultimately restored or removed from the electoral rolls.