Jairam Ramesh alleges voter roll manipulation in UP, Karnataka; demands Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

New Delhi, Oct 26 : Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh on Monday alleged fresh irregularities in electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of failing to prevent alleged manipulation of voter lists. He demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh said the latest revelations had exposed a deepening crisis in the Election Commission and the Narendra Modi government. He alleged that attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to divert attention from the issue could not conceal the seriousness of the alleged irregularities.

Referring to Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh said the ECI had ordered scrutiny of electoral rolls in all 403 Assembly constituencies following complaints by the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. He claimed that in Azamgarh, the same individual's name appeared 13 times on the electoral roll, describing it as one among thousands of alleged irregularities detected in just two constituencies.

Questioning the accountability measures, Ramesh alleged that only eight junior officials were being held responsible, while those who should be answerable for the lapses continued to escape accountability. He said the discrepancies raised serious concerns about the preparation, verification and maintenance of electoral rolls.

Turning to Karnataka, the Congress leader alleged that the misuse of Form 7, which is used to raise objections to voter entries and seek deletion of names on prescribed grounds, had continued despite protests by the Congress under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Ramesh claimed that around 61,000 applications seeking deletion of voters' names had been submitted in the names of election officials without specifying reasons for the proposed deletions.

He questioned how such applications could continue to be filed despite an ECI communication dated October 10, 2026, addressed to state Chief Electoral Officers to address concerns over the improper use of Form 7.

"Every passing day brings forth new evidence of the mass, centralised manipulation orchestrated by CEC Gyanesh Kumar at the behest of the PM and HM," Ramesh alleged, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Reiterating his demand for Kumar's resignation, Ramesh also called for an immediate halt to the SIR exercise.

Form 7 provides a mechanism for raising objections to entries in electoral rolls. However, requests for deletion must be based on prescribed grounds and subjected to the applicable verification procedures to ensure that eligible voters are not wrongly removed from the electoral register.

The Congress has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to adequately address alleged discrepancies in voter lists and has sought greater transparency and accountability in the revision process.

The latest allegations concerning Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are expected to intensify the political confrontation over electoral roll integrity. The claims, however, require examination and verification by the concerned election authorities.

The Election Commission's response to the alleged duplicate entries in Uttar Pradesh and the reported Form 7 applications in Karnataka will be crucial in establishing the facts and addressing concerns over the credibility of the electoral roll revision process.