The 19-party INDIA bloc on Wednesday announced a joint campaign over electoral rolls and election procedures, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge saying all participating parties supported replacing electronic voting machines (EVMs) with paper ballots. The meeting in New Delhi focused on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the role of the Election Commission and demands for changes to election laws. Kharge said the opposition parties had agreed to “fight together in a united manner” and outlined a series of demands concerning voter-list transparency, protection against wrongful deletion of names and changes to the voting system.
Kharge said the bloc wanted the pre-SIR electoral roll to be used for future elections and called for complete transparency in subsequent revisions. According to the demands outlined at the meeting, constituency-wise and booth-wise details of additions, deletions and corrections should be made available. The bloc also called for voters whose names are proposed to be removed to receive notice, reasons for the deletion and an effective mechanism to appeal. It further demanded measures to prevent eligible voters from being excluded because of administrative problems, documentation issues or a lack of awareness.
The opposition alliance also called for simpler registration procedures for young and first-time voters and raised concerns about changes to Form 6, which is used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls. Kharge additionally sought greater institutional accountability from the Election Commission and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demands come amid a wider dispute over the SIR exercise and reports concerning disagreements within the Election Commission over aspects of voter-roll revisions. The Election Commission has said that differences within the institution are part of its functioning and that its actions follow applicable legal procedures.
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The meeting also saw strong criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Election Commission from opposition leaders. Kharge accused the government and the Election Commission of undermining electoral processes, while using the term “votebandi” to describe what he alleged was the removal or exclusion of voters. These are political allegations made by the opposition and have not been established as fact. The Election Commission has continued to defend the legality of its procedures, while it recently ordered a review of voter-roll software following reports about concerns raised internally over changes to electoral lists.
The INDIA bloc's programme also includes street-level mobilisation. Kharge announced district-level “Save Democracy” marches and demonstrations from October 2 to 8, followed by a proposed march of opposition MPs to the Election Commission on October 6. A major rally in Delhi has been scheduled for November 1. The alliance said the campaign would focus on electoral-roll transparency, voting procedures and institutional accountability. The bloc's 19 participating parties include the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), Rashtriya Janata Dal, CPI(M), CPI, National Conference, PDP, JMM and several other regional and Left parties.
The dispute comes as political parties intensify their scrutiny of the electoral-roll revision process ahead of forthcoming elections. The Election Commission has said it is reviewing its voter-roll software through a committee that includes a senior election official and an independent technology expert. It has also said local officials will visit voters whose records are flagged for discrepancies instead of routinely requiring them to appear at government offices. The INDIA bloc's latest demands now place paper ballots, access to electoral-roll data, safeguards against voter deletion and accountability within the election system at the centre of its campaign.
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