Congress calls SIR ‘Shah Instigated Removal’, flags ‘unusually high’ voter deletions

On September 20, 2026, the Congress party alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was a massive Shah Instigated Removal of voters, an assault on the Constitution. The opposition claimed that large-scale deletions across states were overwhelmingly of voters from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, Phase-1 of the SIR process in Bihar deleted 7.8 crore voters, which equated to a 13% deletion rate. Phase-3, currently underway in 16 states and three UTs, has deleted over 6.18 crore voters, or 17%, with an additional 5.43 crore voters facing risk of deletion. This would result in an alarming 32% of voters having their names deleted or at risk.

Ramesh pointed out that the deletion rate in certain states like Delhi (53.73%), Chandigarh (52.58%), Jharkhand (39.57%), and others was unusually high, indicating structural flaws in the SIR process. The Congress alleged that more women than men were being deleted from the electoral roll during the SIR process. The party claimed that by delegating the responsibility of voter verification to citizens, the State was abdicating its duty.

The opposition has dubbed the SIR as a ploy targeting non-BJP voters, while the Election Commission maintains that the revision will cleanse the voters' list of ineligible people.