The Election Commission of India (ECI), in a detailed 10-point statement, explained the procedure for preparing electoral rolls, emphasizing that the process is highly transparent and conducted in multiple stages with the active participation of political parties at each step. The commission strongly criticized political parties and individuals who recently raised concerns regarding errors in electoral rolls from previous elections, pointing out that a dedicated Claims and Objections period is provided precisely to identify and correct such issues before polls.
In its clarification, the commission stated that if any irregularities had been raised within the stipulated period, they could have been thoroughly reviewed and corrected by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) before elections. It further stressed that political parties had a crucial role to play at every stage of the exercise. However, several political parties and their Booth Level Agents reportedly neglected their responsibility of reviewing the draft rolls at the appropriate time and failed to highlight discrepancies when they had the opportunity to do so.
The commission highlighted that political parties and individuals have recently been questioning the accuracy of electoral rolls, including those used in earlier elections. However, it reiterated that the sole purpose of sharing these draft rolls with political parties and candidates during the Claims and Objections phase was to provide them with the chance to raise concerns. According to the poll body, this mechanism exists to ensure accuracy and transparency, and it is the appropriate time to bring up any issues.
The Election Commission further clarified that if such concerns had been formally raised at the right time and through the proper channels, they would have been addressed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate-level Electoral Registration Officers (SDM-EROs), who are entrusted with the authority to make corrections, provided the complaints were genuine. This would have ensured that mistakes did not carry forward into the elections.
The commission also mentioned that draft electoral rolls are published in both digital and physical formats and distributed to all recognized political parties for review. To enhance accessibility, these draft rolls are also made available on the official ECI website, allowing the public to access and review them easily. This step is designed to maintain openness and allow greater scrutiny of the rolls.
Explaining the administrative framework, the ECI noted that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), supported by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), are responsible for preparing and finalizing electoral rolls. These officers bear the responsibility of ensuring accuracy and maintaining the integrity of the rolls, with BLOs providing ground-level support to verify voter details within their designated areas.
The statement by the poll body comes a day before the Election Commission is scheduled to hold a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, where it is expected to address recent political developments. This timing has drawn attention, as the opposition, particularly the Congress, has intensified its criticism of the commission’s role in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sharply accused the Election Commission of enabling large-scale voter manipulation to benefit the ruling BJP. He alleged that fake voters were added to the rolls in key states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. Gandhi specifically claimed that in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment, part of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat, over one lakh fraudulent votes were cast. The BJP secured victory in that seat by a margin of 32,707 votes, raising questions about the authenticity of the voter list.
The Congress party has expanded its allegations beyond a single constituency, claiming that similar instances of voter fraud may have occurred in several other states. Gandhi suggested that the manipulation of electoral rolls could have influenced the results in as many as 70 constituencies across the country where Congress candidates lost by fewer than 50,000 votes, thereby questioning the fairness of the entire election process.
