Gandhi questions Bihar voter-roll revisions as EC defends SIR process

The Election Commission is facing renewed political pressure over the integrity of electoral rolls in Bihar as India’s opposition races to mobilize voters around the issue of vote theft. The clash comes as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi amplifies allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, releasing video footage of people identified as dead in revised drafts and announcing a national campaign aimed at safeguarding the right to vote. The EC has pushed back, urging evidence-based claims and reiterating the procedures by which rolls are prepared, revised, and contested.

In Bihar, Gandhi circulated a lengthy video in which he is shown meeting individuals who were omitted or deemed deceased in the draft list. He credited the Election Commission for what he framed as a unique experience, while echoing his broader charge that electoral data manipulation undermines democracy. In Bihar’s current political context, the opposition says the SIR has disenfranchised millions, a claim reinforced by reports of hundreds of thousands of deletions and the ongoing legal scrutiny in the Supreme Court. Separately, Gandhi has continued to press allegations from...