The Congress on Tuesday renewed its allegations of electoral malpractice, accusing the Election Commission of functioning under the &ldquo;shadow&rdquo; of the BJP during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
At a high-level review meeting in the capital, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the ruling party at the Centre was attempting to &ldquo;weaponise&rdquo; the SIR process for &ldquo;vote chori&rdquo;, asserting that the poll body must demonstrate its independence at a time when public trust in institutions was strained.
Kharge chaired discussions with key office bearers from 12 states and Union Territories where the revision exercise is underway. 
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal also took part in the consultations with state presidents, legislature party leaders and secretaries.
In a post on X, Kharge said the Congress had conducted a &ldquo;comprehensive strategy review&rdquo; aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the electoral rolls. 
He described the poll panel&rsquo;s conduct during the SIR as &ldquo;deeply disappointing&rdquo;.
&ldquo;It must immediately demonstrate that it is not operating under the BJP&rsquo;s shadow and it remembers its constitutional oath and allegiance to the people of India, not to any ruling party,&rdquo; he said. 
He added that if the Election Commission chose to &ldquo;look the other way&rdquo;, such inaction would amount to &ldquo;complicity of silence&rdquo;.
The Congress chief said party workers, from booth-level officers to district and block leaders, would remain &ldquo;relentlessly vigilant&rdquo; against any move to delete genuine voters or add fictitious ones. 
The party, he said, would resist any &ldquo;partisan misuse of institutions&rdquo; that could undermine democratic safeguards.
Venugopal reiterated the charge that the SIR process was being misused. 
&ldquo;While purification of electoral rolls is an undeniably necessary objective, it must be carried out in a bonafide manner. The ECI&rsquo;s conduct thus far has been to further the BJP&rsquo;s Vote Chori agenda, setting aside its Constitutional obligation of impartiality,&rdquo; he said.
He added that the party would continue to oppose any &ldquo;unfair deletions&rdquo; or insertion of &ldquo;bogus voters&rdquo;.
The remarks come a day after the Election Commission announced that 50.11 crore enumeration forms, 98.32% of the targeted 50.99 crore electors, had been distributed during Phase II of the SIR. 
The exercise spans nine states and three Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry, which are slated for elections in 2026.
On Tuesday, the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court, arguing that the SIR, when conducted alongside local body elections, risked creating an administrative impasse and was not conducive to a fair democratic process.
The Congress has linked its heavy defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, where the NDA won 202 seats against the Mahagathbandhan&rsquo;s 35, to what it calls a pattern of &ldquo;vote chori&rdquo;.&nbsp;
Rahul Gandhi recently termed the results &ldquo;surprising&rdquo; and alleged the contest was unfair.
The Election Commission has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Congress questions EC’s impartiality, alleges SIR process is enabling BJP-led “vote chori”

Congress Steps Up Attack On Election Commission

Congress questions EC’s impartiality, alleges SIR process is enabling BJP-led “vote chori”

November 18, 2025 | 16:07 IST