Congress Calls for Complete Transparency on Voter Deletions in Uttarakhand’s SIR Roll Update

Dehradun – The recently completed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand has sparked a fresh political dispute. The state Congress claims that a huge batch of names disappeared from the voter list and is demanding that the Election Commission disclose the exact numbers.

Congress Flags Massive Voter Deletions

Addressing reporters at the party’s Uttarakhand Bhawan, former legislator and head of the Congress SIR Committee, Manoj Rawat, asserted that approximately 13.85 lakh voters were erased during the pre‑SIR and SIR phases. He questioned why the Election Commission has yet to publish a stage‑wise breakdown of deletions and urged that each phase’s figures be made publicly available for full transparency.

Concerns Over the Use of Form‑7

Rawat also raised doubts about the handling of Form‑7 in the revision process. He said that automatically generated forms, complaints allegedly lodged by BJP workers, and the apparent inaction on those complaints have undermined confidence in the procedure’s fairness.

Allegations of Coordination Between Agencies

The Congress leader suggested that eligible voters might have been unintentionally excluded and hinted at a possible coordination between the Election Commission and the BJP. He emphasized that these remain party allegations and have not been proven in any court of law.

BLOs Guarded Voter Names

Rawat praised the party’s Booth‑Level Officers (BLOs) for their vigilance. According to him, Congress’s grassroots teams stayed active throughout the revision, flagging cases where legitimate voters were at risk of being dropped.

Worries About the Upcoming Inclusion Round

The party also warned about the forthcoming inclusion phase via Form‑6. Rawat insisted that both the addition and removal of names must follow a clear, verifiable, and transparent protocol.

Demand for Full Disclosure

Congress has formally requested that the Election Commission publish all SIR‑related data, including the precise count of deletions at each stage. The party argues that such openness will dispel doubts and reinforce public confidence in the integrity of the electoral roll.

“Electoral rolls are the foundation of every citizen’s right to vote,” Rawat said. “Each step of their preparation must be open to scrutiny.”

The briefing was attended by senior Congress leaders such as state General Secretary Rajendra Bhandari, Minority Department President Haji Suleman Ansari, Chief Spokesperson Garima Mehra Dausoni, SIR Committee member Amendra Bisht, and advocate Sandeep Chamoli.