Bhopal, Sep 28 (IANS) The Congress on Monday turned its protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh into a broader political campaign over the credibility of the election process, as thousands of party workers marched towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bhopal.
Led by Madhya Pradesh Congress President, Jitu Patwari, the protesters set out from the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office for the CEO office at Arera Hills, with MLAs, former legislators and senior party leaders joining the demonstration from Bhopal and other districts.
The Congress alleged that 34,25,078 names were removed from the final electoral roll following the SIR and demanded that the Election Commission publish constituency-wise and district-wise details of the deleted names.
According to figures cited by the party, Madhya Pradesh had 5,74,06,143 voters before the revision.
The Congress said 42,74,160 names were excluded during the draft process, while the final roll published on February 21, 2026, contained 5,39,81,065 voters.
The protest also saw former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh directly link the electoral-roll controversy with the larger question of free and fair elections.
“For a successful democracy, free and fair elections are essential,” Singh said, alleging that the Election Commission had not taken the issue with the seriousness it deserved.
Singh claimed that 13 crore voter names had been deleted across the country during the SIR and alleged that the functioning of the Election Commission had become centralised.
He also questioned the use of an Election Commission App for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls. “The fight is a long one and we have to continue this struggle. We will have to go among the people and explain to them the path we are passing through,” he said.
The Congress has sought details of the names removed from the rolls as well as information on claims and objections filed during the revision. It also wants data on the number of minority, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe voters whose names were deleted.
The party’s agitation is also linked to its demand for accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Election Commission has made the SIR electoral-roll database and facilities for searching names available through its voter services portal.
Senior leaders present at the PCC gathering included Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Singh, former MP Rameshwar Nikhra, former ministers P.C. Sharma, Vijayalaxmi Sadho, Mukesh Nayak, Ravi Joshi and Sanjay Kamle, besides MLAs Siddharth Kushwaha, Shobha Oza, Vicky Patel and J.P. Dhanopia.
The Congress said the Bhopal protest was the beginning of a wider political mobilisation on electoral-roll issues, with the party planning further demonstrations at district headquarters.
–IANS
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