Congress: 7.8 crore voters dropped from rolls in first two phases of SIR

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has raised serious questions over the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of voter lists that the Election Commission has launched across the country. He has claimed that around 7.8 crore voters' names were removed from the rolls in the first and second phases of SIR, about 13 percent of the voter list before the revision.

According to Ramesh, in the third phase that began in 2026, based on information from 12 states and two union territories, 6.18 crore voters out of 36.06 crore were dropped from the list. In addition, 5.43 crore voters have been sent notices to submit additional documents.

Ramesh said that if both figures are added together, around 32 percent of voters have either already been removed from the list or remain at risk of being removed. He alleged that large numbers of voters have been affected in Delhi, Chandigarh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. He also alleged that this entire process of name deletion has disproportionately affected economically and socially weaker sections and women.

These figures and allegations have been put forward by the Congress leader and cannot be treated as independently confirmed by the Election Commission. According to Election Commission documents, separate timelines have been set under SIR for door-to-door verification, processing of claims and objections, and the final publication of voter lists. The Commission is also allowing voters to check their records and file claims or objections as per the prescribed process.

Looking at the figures cited in the Congress claim: 7.8 crore voters' names were removed in the first and second phases, 6.18 crore names were removed in the third phase, and 5.43 crore voters were sent notices for additional documents. The party says 13 percent of voters were removed compared to the list before SIR, this figure was over 17 percent in the third phase, and around 15 percent more voters remain at risk of removal. Congress claims that in all, 32 percent of voters have been affected by this process.