Bengaluru: Congress is closely monitoring the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said on Wednesday, calling for transparency in the process of identifying voters for verification.
Addressing reporters in Bengaluru after a meeting with newly appointed district Congress presidents under the party’s ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’, Venugopal said the party would strengthen its organisational machinery and simultaneously monitor the electoral roll revision at the district level.
He said the Congress has an organisational network of 15,56,054 functionaries, from booth-level agents (BLA-2) to the Pradesh Congress Committee president. The performance of district Congress presidents would be reviewed after six months, he said, adding that those performing well would continue while others could be replaced.
Congress raises concerns over SIR
Venugopal said the process of removing or retaining names in the electoral rolls should be fair and transparent.
He cited figures relating to the Karnataka SIR process, saying around 1.08 crore electors had been categorised under ASDDO — Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others — in the draft exercise. Around 43.81 lakh electors have also been issued notices under various “no mapping” and discrepancy categories.
The ongoing SIR has generated notices for 43.81 lakh voters in Karnataka, with the notice and verification process continuing before publication of the final electoral roll. Recent reports have also highlighted cases where voters were flagged over mismatches or because they could not be mapped to the 2002 electoral roll.
Venugopal said the Congress had no objection if names were removed for genuine reasons, but sought clarity on the process and safeguards for eligible voters.
“Elections should be won through the people’s mandate and not through manipulation of votes,” he said, adding that the Congress would not accept any irregularity in the electoral process.
District-level monitoring planned
Venugopal said senior leaders and ministers would discuss how the SIR exercise was progressing at the district level. District in-charge ministers and MLAs would be asked to actively participate in monitoring the process, he said.
He added that the Congress was also monitoring SIR exercises in other states and was in touch with the respective Pradesh Congress Committees, including those in Rajasthan.
The Election Commission currently provides an online facility for voters to search their names in previous SIR electoral rolls and has published information relating to the 2026 SIR exercise.
Venugopal questions EC response
Venugopal alleged that the Election Commission had not adequately responded to representations submitted by the Congress regarding protection of eligible voters’ names.
Referring to the SIR exercise in Uttarakhand, he said genuine grievances relating to voter-list revision should be heard and addressed. He claimed the Karnataka Congress had submitted 18 representations to the Election Commission but had not received an adequate response.
The Election Commission, however, remains the constitutional authority responsible for the preparation, revision and correction of electoral rolls.
Attacks BJP over remarks on Modi
Reacting to BJP president JP Nadda’s reported description of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the world’s most democratic leaders, Venugopal criticised the remark.
He also attacked the Centre over its policies and raised concerns about the reported proposal to impose charges or taxes on UPI transactions.
On questions relating to ‘Vande Mataram’, Venugopal said all Congress leaders and workers would abide by the resolution adopted by the Congress Working Committee.
