India's Election Commission under scrutiny for voter roll deletions
India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, launched on June 30 and running until July 29, mandates Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct door‑to‑door verification and distribute enumeration forms. After complaints that BLOs were delivering forms in groups at mosques and wedding halls, the Karnataka State Election Commission formed a five‑officer team to monitor compliance and issued warnings to 35 BLOs.
United Nations Special Rapporteurs on minority issues, freedom of expression and freedom of religion wrote to the Indian government in May, expressing alarm over allegations that about 52 million names were removed from voter lists in 12 states and Union Territories, with 9.1 million deletions in West Bengal. They warned that the deletions appeared to disproportionately affect Muslims and other minorities and raised concerns about the use of an AI‑driven system to flag irregularities.
The Supreme Court declined to stay the SIR process but allowed appealed voters in West Bengal to regain voting rights before the state’s April assembly elections. Meanwhile, leaders of the National Democratic Alliance submitted a memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner urging an immediate halt to the Karnataka revision and a fresh, door‑to‑door verification.
The controversy has sparked legal challenges, political protests and calls for greater transparency in the voter‑roll update process.