IndiaPosted at: Oct 24 2026 1:40PM


Jairam Ramesh targets EC over bizarre voter entries, demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

New Delhi, Oct 24 (UNI) Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh on Saturday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of attempting to blame software for what he described as a “well-planned conspiracy” to benefit the BJP, after allegedly bizarre entries surfaced in electoral rolls used for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections.
Demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Ramesh called for a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, an impartial investigation into alleged discrepancies and the public release of complete machine-readable voter data.
In a post on the social media platform X, Ramesh cited entries in which a voter’s name was reportedly recorded as “Ram ne Yadav ko maara” (Ram beat Yadav), while the father’s name appeared as “Moorkh Chandra Yadav”. He also pointed to other entries in which a voter’s father was listed as “B.Com”, while another entry reportedly read “Ram ne Sharma ka naam”. These anomalies, he argued, raised serious questions about the processes used to prepare, verify and maintain electoral rolls.
“If these ‘errors’ have surfaced in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, how can it be said that such things have not happened in other elections?” Ramesh asked, questioning whether the accuracy of voter lists and the integrity of the electoral process had effectively been left to software and the ECINET digital platform. He maintained that the Election Commission could not evade responsibility by attributing discrepancies to technological systems, insisting that accountability for the correctness of electoral rolls rested with the constitutional body.
The Congress leader said the latest controversy reinforced concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its adherence to constitutional principles. He argued that the commission had a duty to ensure that electoral rolls were accurate, transparent and free from irregularities, and that no eligible citizen was deprived of the right to vote because of errors in official records.
Ramesh linked the reported anomalies to allegations of irregularities in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, where, according to him, the details of 10,470 voters had been changed through Form 8 applications without supporting documentary records. He alleged that a substantial proportion of those affected belonged to a particular community and expressed apprehension that discrepancies in their voter records could ultimately prevent them from exercising their franchise. The allegations require independent examination to establish the circumstances in which the changes were made and whether the prescribed safeguards were followed.
He also referred to complaints that voters’ names had disappeared from electoral rolls published after the SIR exercise and that searches using Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers had returned incorrect details. Ramesh said the Election Commission had yet to provide the Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with the complete machine-readable electoral data they had sought. Access to the underlying records, he argued, was essential to verify the reported discrepancies, determine their extent and fix responsibility wherever irregularities were established.
With the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, the Congress leader said the alleged anomalies had heightened concerns over electoral transparency and voters’ rights. He called for an impartial inquiry into whether the prescribed procedures, including the issuance of notices and the conduct of hearings, had been followed whenever names were added to, deleted from or altered in electoral rolls. Such an examination, he said, was necessary to establish whether eligible voters had been treated fairly and whether the safeguards governing changes to voter records had been observed.
Ramesh further argued that the SIR exercise, which was intended to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls, had instead raised doubts about their credibility. Referring to elections to the Lok Sabha and in states including Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal, he alleged that concerns about electoral manipulation had fuelled a wider public perception that elections had been stolen. He accused the BJP of benefiting from alleged collusion with the Election Commission, a charge that remains a political allegation and has not been established as a finding of fact.
He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of responding to Rahul Gandhi’s questions about alleged “vote chori” through personal attacks rather than addressing the substantive issues raised about electoral rolls. Ramesh said the ruling party should answer questions concerning the integrity of the electoral process instead of diverting attention towards political personalities.
Setting out the Congress’s demands, Ramesh called for Gyanesh Kumar’s immediate resignation, the suspension of what he described as a fraudulent SIR exercise designed to benefit the BJP, an impartial investigation into the alleged voter-list discrepancies and the publication of complete machine-readable electoral data. He maintained that the overriding objective must be to safeguard the voting rights of every eligible citizen.
The controversy has added to the growing political confrontation over the accuracy of electoral rolls, the transparency of revision procedures and the use of digital systems in election administration. If confirmed, the reported entries in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council electoral rolls would warrant scrutiny of how the records were generated, verified and approved, including the role of software and the officials responsible for checking the information.
The central issue is whether the Election Commission can provide transparent, verifiable explanations for the discrepancies cited by the Congress and demonstrate that adequate safeguards are in place to prevent errors or manipulation. UNI SKA AAB
Tags: #Jairam Ramesh targets EC over bizarre voter entries# demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation
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