Kamleshwar Patel alleges massive voter deletions across India

CH NEWS, Mangaluru All India Congress Committee observer and Congress Working Committee member Kamleshwar Patel has accused the BJP-led Central Government and the Election Commission of manipulating electoral rolls by removing eligible voters and adding fake names. He alleged that more than 13 crore voters had been affected across the country. Speaking at a press conference at Congress Bhavan in Mallikatta, Mangaluru, on Sunday, Patel said the alleged deletions threatened democracy and citizens’ constitutional right to vote. Referring to Article 326 of the Constitution, he stressed the principle of equal voting rights. He also criticised the 2023 changes to the committee responsible for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner, claiming they had weakened the independence of the Election Commission. Patel alleged that the Systematic Identification/Removal (SIR) process and Form 6 had been misused to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls. These allegations were made by the Congress leader and were not independently established in the report. INDIA Alliance Launches Nationwide Campaign Patel said the INDIA alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, had launched a nationwide campaign titled ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ (Save the Vote, Save the Nation) on October 10. The campaign is scheduled to continue until November 26, Constitution Day. He announced that a major rally would be held in Delhi on November 1, followed by a ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement on November 25 and 26. Lakhs of party workers from across the country are expected to participate, he said. The campaign aims to raise awareness about voter rights and demand protection of the electoral process. Dakshina Kannada District Congress President Padmaraj R. Poojary, KPCC Working President Dr. Manjunath Bhandary, former minister B. Ramanath Rai, former Rajya Sabha member B. Ibrahim and Legislative Council member Ivan D’Souza attended the press conference. Several Congress office-bearers and party leaders were also present at the event.