Congress alleges 7.8 crore voter names deleted during SIR exercise

The Congress has alleged large-scale voter deletions in the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. General secretary Jairam Ramesh said 7.8 crore names, or 13% of the pre-SIR roll, were deleted in the first two phases. In the current phase, he said, 6.18 crore of 36.06 crore voters were deleted and another 5.43 crore issued notices seeking documents. Ramesh called SIR an assault on the Constitution.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 20 Sept 2026, 4:53 pm IST

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

#sir#election commission#congress#electoral rolls#jairam ramesh

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

7.8 crore voter names were deleted in Phases 1 and 2 of SIR, 13% of the pre-SIR roll — Attributed to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh; figure appears in source, no ECI confirmation given
6.18 crore of 36.06 crore voters covered in the ongoing phase deleted, a rate over 17% — Attributed to Ramesh citing data from 12 states and two UTs; source of the underlying data not specified
5.43 crore voters issued notices seeking additional documents, taking total deleted or at risk to 32% — Ramesh's calculation as quoted in source; arithmetic not independently checked
More than 3.16 million Delhi voters, including CM Rekha Gupta and Arvind Kejriwal, served notices over discrepancies — Attributed to unnamed officials involved in the exercise; Delhi CEO category-wise numbers cited in source
Phase 3 of SIR began in 16 states and three UTs in mid-2026 — Attributed to Ramesh; date references in the source are inconsistent with a present-day timeline and need editor review

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The Congress is deliberately lifting SIR out of the realm of technical electoral administration and into the language of constitutional rights — a framing designed to travel nationally. Rather than train its fire only on the Election Commission, the party's "Shah Instigated Removal" coinage shifts responsibility towards the Union home ministry, converting an institutional dispute into a government-versus-voter contest. The claim that women and the economically and socially disadvantaged were hit hardest is a clear attempt to mobilise specific social constituencies. But the numbers cited are the party's own assertions, not figures confirmed by the Election Commission in this story.

By foregrounding state-wise percentages for Delhi, Telangana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, Congress is trying to give the issue local political traction, not just a national talking point.
The story notes that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal were themselves served notices — a ready-made argument for the opposition that the process is error-prone.
Highlighting which states published lists of at-risk voters and which did not turns transparency into a pressure point on BJP-ruled states.
Naming Punjab alongside BJP-ruled states lets Congress claim consistency, but it also complicates opposition coordination with AAP.
If irregularities are eventually established, the government and the EC are on the defensive; if the revision holds up, the counter-charge of opposition scaremongering gains force.

What to watch — Watch the Supreme Court hearing on the Delhi SIR listed for September 22 and the EC's handling of pending appeals in Bengal — together they will decide whether this becomes a judicial battle or stays a campaign slogan.

This story records Congress's allegations only; it does not establish the accuracy of the deletion figures, the reasons behind removals, which groups were actually affected, or the Election Commission's response.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 8 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Election Commission of India is conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in phases across the country, requiring voters to be matched against older rolls and, in many cases, submit documents to stay on the list. Phase 1 began in Bihar in June 2025, Phase 2 covered nine states and three Union Territories in November 2025, and Phase 3 extended to 16 states and three UTs in mid-2026. The Congress has now alleged that the exercise has produced abnormally high deletion rates and disproportionately hit poor, socially disadvantaged voters and women. The party's general secretary Jairam Ramesh called SIR a "Shah Instigated Removal" of voters and an "assault on the Constitution", in a jibe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Key facts

Jairam Ramesh alleged 7.8 crore voter names were deleted in Phases 1 and 2 of SIR, amounting to 13% of the pre-SIR electoral roll.
In the ongoing phase, data from 12 states and two UTs shows 6.18 crore of 36.06 crore voters deleted — a deletion rate of over 17%, per Ramesh.
An additional 5.43 crore voters were served notices demanding documents, putting another 15% at risk of deletion; combined, 32% or about one in three voters affected.
State-wise deleted-or-at-risk figures cited: Delhi 53.73%, Chandigarh 52.58%, Telangana 48.90%, Jharkhand 39.57%, Haryana 37.5%, Uttarakhand 35.71%, Meghalaya 35.36%, Maharashtra 33.88%, Karnataka 27.6%, Odisha 23.67%, Andhra Pradesh 21.17%, Punjab 15.23%.
Lists of voters at risk of deletion were made public in Karnataka, Telangana and Jharkhand; Delhi did so only on September 19, 2026, after public pressure.
In Delhi, more than 3.16 million voters were served notices over discrepancies, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Of 9,753,577 electors in Delhi's post-SIR draft roll, 1,379,785 fell in the 'no mapping' category and 1,933,134 were flagged for 'logical discrepancies'.
Ramesh claimed more women than men were removed from rolls in most major states during SIR.

Timeline

June 2025ECI begins Phase 1 of SIR in Bihar.
November 2025Phase 2 of SIR launched across nine states and three Union Territories.
Mid-2026Phase 3 of SIR begins in 16 states and three Union Territories.
August 31 (2026)Delhi's draft electoral roll released after SIR.
September 19, 2026Delhi CEO's office publishes the list of voters at risk of deletion, after public pressure.
Friday before the story (late night)Delhi CEO's office publishes list of electors served notices, nearly three weeks after the draft roll.
September 22Supreme Court scheduled to hear a plea against the Delhi SIR exercise.
Sunday (day of story)Congress, through Jairam Ramesh, alleges 7.8 crore deletions and calls SIR an assault on the Constitution.

Who has a stake

Election Commission of India — Conducting the SIR; faces allegations of structural flaws, opaque lists and high deletion rates, plus litigation in the Supreme Court.
Congress / Jairam Ramesh — Leading the political attack, framing SIR as targeted disenfranchisement and an assault on the Constitution.
Voters served notices (5.43 crore nationally; over 3.16 million in Delhi) — Must produce documents to remain on the final roll or risk losing the right to vote.
Economically and socially disadvantaged voters and women — Allegedly disproportionately deleted; least able to produce documents the state may never have issued.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah / BJP-ruled states — Targeted by Congress's 'Shah Instigated Removal' jibe; several BJP-ruled states have not published at-risk voter lists.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal — Among the prominent electors served SIR notices for discrepancies.
Supreme Court — To hear on September 22 a plea challenging the Delhi SIR exercise.
West Bengal voters — 3.7 million SIR appeals pending; ECI has proposed 42 election tribunals to handle them.

Why it matters

The electoral roll is the gateway to the vote, so deletions on the scale alleged would affect the basic right to participate in elections. The dispute also turns on procedural fairness: whether the burden of proving eligibility should fall on citizens who may never have received the documents being demanded, and whether at-risk lists are published transparently. With the matter before the Supreme Court and millions of appeals pending, the credibility of the electoral process itself is in question.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

SIR = Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, conducted by the Election Commission of India.
SIR Phase 1: Bihar, June 2025; Phase 2: nine states and three UTs, November 2025; Phase 3: 16 states and three UTs, mid-2026.
Congress claim: 7.8 crore deletions in Phases 1 and 2 = 13% of the pre-SIR roll.
Current phase (12 states, 2 UTs): 6.18 crore of 36.06 crore voters deleted (over 17%); 5.43 crore notices (another 15% at risk).
Delhi draft roll had 9,753,577 electors; categories used were 'no mapping' (link to 2002 roll missing) and 'logical discrepancies'.
In West Bengal, 3.7 million SIR appeals were pending and the ECI proposed 42 election tribunals.

Mains framing

The controversy over the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision raises the question of how a democracy balances roll purity against roll inclusiveness. The Congress's case rests on scale and pattern: an alleged 7.8 crore deletions in the first two phases (13% of the pre-SIR roll), and in the current phase 6.18 crore deletions out of 36.06 crore voters plus 5.43 crore notices, meaning roughly one in three voters is deleted or at risk, with outlier states such as Delhi (53.73%) and Telangana (48.90%). The party attributes this not to fraud detection but to "structural flaws" \u2014 chiefly the shifting of the evidentiary burden onto citizens to produce documents the state may never have issued, which it says falls hardest on poor, socially disadvantaged voters and, in most major states, on women. Transparency is a second axis: at-risk lists were published in Karnataka, Telangana and Jharkhand, and in Delhi only on September 19, 2026 under public pressure, while other states have not. Institutional remedies are already engaged \u2014 the Supreme Court is to hear a plea against the Delhi SIR, and the ECI has proposed 42 election tribunals for 3.7 million pending appeals in Bengal \u2014 pointing to a way forward built on uniform and timely publication of at-risk lists, accessible claims-and-objections and appeal machinery, and documentation norms that do not exclude those least able to comply.

Key terms

Special Intensive Revision (SIR): The ECI's phased, document-based revision of electoral rolls that matches current voters against earlier rolls and seeks proof for retention.
No mapping: Delhi SIR category for voters who could not be linked to the electoral roll from the previous revision in 2002.
Logical discrepancies: Delhi SIR category for voters whose entries contained inconsistencies with the previous electoral roll.
Draft electoral roll: The provisional post-SIR voter list, released in Delhi on August 31, against which notices and objections are processed before the final roll.
Election tribunals: Bodies the ECI proposed (42 of them) to dispose of the 3.7 million SIR-related appeals pending in West Bengal.
Shah Instigated Removal: Jairam Ramesh's coinage recasting the SIR acronym as a jibe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Practice questions

Critically examine the tension between purifying electoral rolls and protecting the right to vote, with reference to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision.
Discuss the constitutional and institutional safeguards available to a voter whose name is deleted from the electoral roll, and evaluate their adequacy in light of the SIR experience.
"Placing the burden of proof of eligibility on the citizen risks turning verification into a machine for exclusion." Analyse this argument in the context of electoral roll revision in India.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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