Assam CM Claims Rahul Backs Voter List Cleanup
Sarma says Gandhi’s fraud allegations justify electoral roll revision.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has seized on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of voter fraud to argue that they inadvertently support the need for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Assam. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sarma claimed that Gandhi’s criticism of fraudulent voter entries in Karnataka highlights the necessity of cleansing Assam’s voter lists, particularly to remove names of alleged “Bangladeshis.”
“Rahul Gandhi has given a certificate that SIR should be conducted,” Sarma said, referencing Gandhi’s press conference in New Delhi where the Congress leader alleged over one lakh fake, duplicate, or bulk votes in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency. Gandhi cited issues like 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 fake addresses, 10,452 voters tied to single addresses, 4,132 invalid voter IDs, and 33,692 misuse of Form 6 for new voters. Sarma argued these findings validate Assam’s SIR efforts to address similar issues, including names appearing in multiple states like Barpeta, Guwahati, Kerala, and Delhi.
“In Assam, we have names of Bangladeshis and even dead people on our voter rolls. It’s a disease,” Sarma said, asserting that the SIR, also implemented in Bihar, is crucial for electoral integrity. He welcomed Gandhi’s remarks as “indirect support” for the Election Commission’s efforts, a rare alignment given their political rivalry.
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Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, accused the BJP and Election Commission of colluding in a “huge criminal fraud,” alleging a “vote chori model” nationwide. He called for judicial intervention, claiming democracy is at stake. Sarma, however, dismissed these broader accusations, focusing instead on Gandhi’s data as evidence for stricter voter verification, including linking Aadhaar numbers to ensure unique voter identities.
The controversy follows Gandhi’s ongoing campaign against alleged electoral malpractices, which he claims enabled the BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha victory. In Assam, the SIR has stirred debate, with critics like Congress alleging it targets marginalized communities to suppress votes. Sarma, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP in 2015, has long championed voter roll purification to address what he calls “demographic invasion” by undocumented migrants, a stance that has fueled tensions ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.
The Election Commission has pushed back, labeling Gandhi’s claims misleading and requesting a sworn affidavit to substantiate them, citing Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. As the debate intensifies, Sarma’s remarks underscore the BJP’s strategy to leverage voter list reforms to consolidate support among Assam’s majority community.
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