BJP ‘conspiracy’ to remove voters from Rajasthan electoral rolls: Congress

The Congress on Monday accused the BJP-led government in Rajasthan of conspiring to “fraudulently” remove the names of opposition supporters from the electoral rolls, alleging a systematic attempt to undermine the democratic process under the cover of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters’ lists.

Addressing a press conference in Jaipur alongside leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tikaram Jully, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the party would not allow what he described as a “murder of democracy” in the state.

Dotasra claimed that following the SIR exercise, the draft electoral roll released by the Election Commission showed around 45 lakh voters marked as “absent, shifted or deceased”, after which objections were invited. He alleged that the process was running smoothly until 3 January when BJP national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh visited the state.

“Until 3 January, there was no chaos. After that visit, a process of fraudulently adding and deleting votes began,” Dotasra alleged.

Citing data accessed from the Election Commission’s website, he said that between 17 December and 14 January, the BJP, through 937 booth-level agents (BLAs), filed applications to add 211 names and remove 5,694 voters. In contrast, he claimed, the Congress, through 110 BLAs, sought the addition of 185 names and the deletion of just two.

The Congress leader also took aim at the Election Commission’s decision to extend the deadline for filing claims and objections on the draft rolls in Rajasthan, Goa, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and West Bengal from 15 to 19 January. “We had already suspected that the BJP and the Election Commission would collude to extend the deadline to remove the names of people aligned with the Congress ideology. That is exactly what happened,” he alleged.

Highlighting what he described as suspicious spikes in applications for deletion, Dotasra claimed that in Jhunjhunu alone, 13,882 Form 7 applications were submitted in a single day, while Mandawa saw 16,276, Udaipurwati 1,241 and Khetri 1,478. “So far, around 1.4 lakh forms have already been registered,” he added.

Dotasra further alleged that Union Home minister Amit Shah visited Rajasthan on 13 January and stayed at the chief minister’s residence, and that a “secret operation” took place between 3 and 13 January. He claimed that thousands of computer-generated forms with forged signatures were printed and distributed across assembly constituencies, particularly in seats won by the Congress.

“Ten to fifteen thousand fake, computerised forms were printed in every assembly constituency. BJP MLAs, ministers and candidates were called and asked to distribute them on 13, 14 and 15 January to remove names from the voter list,” he alleged.

He also claimed that the exercise targeted voters perceived to be critical of the “double-engine” BJP government and senior citizens above the age of 60. According to Dotasra, BJP leaders submitted thousands of forms with forged booth level officer (BLO) signatures to sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs), flouting rules that limit a BLO to distributing 10 forms a day.

“In my own constituency, 627 forms were submitted. When another 2,000 were attempted, the SDM refused to accept them,” he said, adding that several BLOs had told the media that their signatures were forged and the forms were incomplete.

Dotasra said Congress leaders had met Election Commission official Naveen Mahajan and apprised him of the alleged irregularities. “We told him that officers are under immense pressure and are being told their jobs are at risk if they do not accept these forms,” he claimed.

Responding to BJP claims that the deletions were aimed at removing the names of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants, Dotasra rejected the explanation, accusing the ruling party of attempting “vote theft” in the name of SIR.

Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully also targeted the BJP, accusing it of misusing the electoral process to manipulate the voter base.

The draft electoral roll of Rajasthan was published on 16 December 2025, with nearly 42 lakh names deleted from the state’s 5.46-crore electorate. While the original deadline for filing claims and objections was 15 January, it has been extended to 19 January. Hearings and verification will continue until 7 February, after which the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on 14 February.

The BJP has rejected the Congress allegations, calling them “baseless” and a familiar tactic of the opposition.

With PTI inputs