Rajasthan is witnessing heightened political tensions over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. On Monday, Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tikaram Jully held a press conference in Delhi, accusing the BJP government of removing voters’ names on a large scale.
Dotasra claimed that the draft voter list published under SIR shows nearly 4.5 million people as “missing, shifted, or deceased (ASD),” effectively preventing them from voting in the upcoming elections. Congress described this as a “murder of democracy” and demanded a forensic probe of the forms.
He said that the process of adding and removing voter names accelerated unusually after senior BJP leaders B.L. Santosh and Amit Shah visited Rajasthan following January 3. Dotasra alleged that BJP booth-level agents submitted thousands of fake and incomplete forms to remove voters’ names, which were misused by booth-level officers (BLOs). Several BLOs told the media that they had not signed any such forms.
Dotasra further alleged that in constituencies such as Bharatpur, Mandawa, and Jhunjhunu, thousands of forms were submitted in a single day, even though regulations allow a BLO to submit a maximum of 10 forms per day. He claimed that BJP MLAs, ministers, and candidates misused BLO signatures to submit thousands of forms at SDM offices.
Tikaram Jully provided examples, noting that 341 applications were submitted under the name of a single booth agent, while the rules allow only a limited number of submissions. In several cases, SDM offices accepted BJP forms, raising concerns over the fairness of the electoral process.
Congress alleged that this effort is targeted at revising the voter list in constituencies where the party had previously won. Dotasra warned that if such practices continue, “there will be no need to conduct elections at all.”
On the other hand, the BJP dismissed the allegations as misleading and baseless, asserting that the SIR is a legitimate and transparent process and accused Congress of trying to gain political mileage.
The Election Commission has extended the last date for claims and objections on the draft voter list from January 15 to January 19, with the final voter list scheduled to be published on February 14, 2026.
Congress has urged the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to conduct a forensic investigation to determine where the forms were prepared and who distributed them. The party has warned that it will approach the court if such actions continue.
