India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for a Nov. 1 rally criticizing the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR), as Delhi’s claims-and-objections period approaches its Oct. 30 close.
In an Oct. 25 post on X, Gandhi urged people to join a march and rally at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan under the slogan “Save the Vote, Save the Country.” He alleged that voter names had been removed and that violations had occurred. His invitation addressed students, young people, women, traders, farmers and laborers.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi said the claims-and-objections period opened Aug. 31 and ends Oct. 30. As of Oct. 23, the office had received 250,754 Form-6 enrollment applications during the claims period, in addition to 212,400 received before draft rolls were published. It said applications received through Oct. 23 would be disposed of by Nov. 30.
The Indian Express, citing ECI figures, reported that draft rolls published by Sept. 1 across 30 states and union territories contained 133.7 million fewer entries than pre-revision rolls, a 14.1% decline. The draft-stage total does not show how many eligible voters were wrongly excluded.
The Indian Express also put the previous intensive roll exercise roughly 20 years earlier, saying annual or pre-election summary updates had taken place in the meantime.
The Ministry of Law and Justice, relaying the ECI’s position in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the revision is intended to keep electoral rolls current while retaining eligible voters. The ministry said removals follow verification and can involve deaths, permanent relocations, duplicate registrations or people officials could not find after repeated visits.
The rally call follows an Oct. 23 demonstration in Delhi, where student, farmer and civil society groups demanded a halt to the SIR, as described in our coverage of the protest. Delhi’s claims period closes Oct. 30, two days before Gandhi’s planned rally.
