Karnataka Congress Alleges BJP Targeting 97 Seats Through Electoral Roll Revision

The political landscape in Karnataka is heating up as the Congress party launches a fierce offensive, alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is orchestrating a plan to 'target' 97 Assembly constituencies currently under Congress control. This alleged strategy is purportedly being implemented through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, an exercise that commenced on June 20. The Congress has openly expressed its suspicion, claiming to possess 'intelligence inputs' regarding the BJP's intentions to undermine its electoral strength in these key seats.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a comprehensive and detailed verification drive conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a process significantly more stringent than routine annual updates. Its primary objective, as stated by officials, is to ensure clean and error-free electoral rolls by identifying and including all eligible voters while removing ineligible ones. The SIR involves meticulous house-to-house verification, family relationship mapping, and the elimination of duplicate or incorrect entries. A crucial new aspect of the 2026 revision is the 'Progeny Mapping' factor, where each voter's record is meticulously linked to their parents or spouse to weed out 'ghost voters'. Discrepancies, such as mismatches between an individual's Aadhaar card and voter record details, could potentially lead to voters being marked as 'shifted', 'duplicate', or 'deceased', and subsequently removed from the draft roll.

The operational phase of the SIR involves Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conducting door-to-door visits from June 30 to July 29. During these visits, partially pre-printed enumeration forms will be distributed to voters, who are then required to fill them out, attach necessary documents, and provide a recent passport-size photograph. The draft voter list is slated for publication on August 5, allowing for objections until September 4, with the final electoral roll expected to be released on October 7.

Congress leaders, including KPCC working president G C Chandrashekhar, have voiced strong concerns, asserting that the BJP's motive is to defeat their candidates in the targeted 97 constituencies. The party fears that this revision could disproportionately affect minority communities, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs), drawing parallels to an alleged 'West Bengal model' where an estimated 27 lakh voters, believed to be supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), were reportedly deleted from the rolls. Furthermore, the Congress alleges that the BJP-led NDA government has exerted undue influence on the Election Commission to manipulate the electoral process for political gains. They caution that the deletion of eligible voters could also strip them of their entitlements to various government welfare schemes.

This is not the first instance of Congress raising alarms over alleged voter fraud in Karnataka. In August 2025, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had accused the ECI of 'vote chori' and systematic fraud in collusion with the BJP, citing significant discrepancies in the electoral rolls of the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency. He had also highlighted alleged deletions of thousands of voters through forged Form 7 applications in the Aland constituency. Earlier, in 2022, a private entity, the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust, faced accusations of illegally collecting voter data in Bengaluru under the guise of the EC's SVEEP program, with alleged links to BJP leaders. The political sparring intensified when a former Congress minister, K.N. Rajanna, was removed from his cabinet position after criticising voter list irregularities during his own party's tenure, a move the BJP promptly used to counter Congress's current allegations.

In response to these perceived threats, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has initiated a comprehensive, statewide awareness campaign titled 'Congress Nade Matadarara Kadege' (Congress towards voters). The party is mobilizing its extensive booth-level network, training Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s) to actively assist voters in correctly filling out enumeration forms and ensuring that no eligible citizen is inadvertently excluded from the electoral rolls. Large-scale 'Booth Samaveshas' (booth-level meetings) are being planned, with the presence of booth presidents and approximately 59,000 BLA-2s, and invitations extended to prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi. Awareness meetings are scheduled across major cities including Mangaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, and Bengaluru. The KPCC has also established an SIR Voter List Review Committee, assigning senior party figures as observers to monitor the process closely and is prepared to challenge any irregularities, whether 'on the streets or in courts'.

The BJP, on its part, has dismissed the Congress's allegations as baseless political rhetoric. BJP state general secretary P Rajeev stated that the party fully supports the SIR exercise, viewing it as crucial for identifying 'dead, ineligible, and infiltrator' voters. He argued that unlike the Congress, which perceives the revision as a threat to its vote bank, the BJP is ready to assist the Election Commission in maintaining the integrity of the electoral rolls. The party has also deployed its own BLA-1s for each constituency and over 40,000 BLA-2 workers across the state's polling booths. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar has sought to alleviate fears, asserting that the SIR aims to include all eligible voters and dismissing concerns of arbitrary deletions, stating that removals are strictly for cases of deceased, absent, shifted, or duplicate voters. The ECI had previously described Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' claims as "baseless" and had requested a sworn affidavit for any such allegations, which was not submitted.

As the Special Intensive Revision continues, the political narrative around electoral integrity in Karnataka remains highly charged, with both major parties actively engaging their cadre and the public in this critical democratic exercise. The outcome of the SIR and the subsequent political fallout will undoubtedly be closely watched as Karnataka prepares for future elections.