Congress Transforms Voter List Protest into Political Campaign in Madhya Pradesh
Congress rallies in Bhopal against voter list amendments, claiming millions of names were removed, demanding accountability from the election commission.
Bhopal, September 28 (Daily Kiran) : Congress has escalated its protest against the amendment of the voter list in Madhya Pradesh into a broader political campaign questioning the integrity of the electoral process. On September 28, thousands of party workers marched towards the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bhopal.
Led by Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari, the demonstrators started from the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office, heading to the office located in Arera Hills. The protest saw participation from current and former legislators, as well as senior party leaders from Bhopal and other districts.
The Congress party accused the election commission of removing 34,25,078 names from the final voter list following the amendments. They have called for the commission to publish a constituency-wise and district-wise breakdown of the names that were deleted.
According to party statistics, there were 5,74,06,143 registered voters in Madhya Pradesh before the amendments. They claimed that during the drafting process, 42,74,160 names were removed, leading to a final voter list of 5,39,81,065 voters published on February 21, 2026.
Former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh linked the voter list controversy directly to the fundamental question of free and fair elections. He emphasized that independent elections are essential for a successful democracy and criticized the election commission for not addressing the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
Singh further alleged that during the amendment process, names of 13 crore voters were removed across the country and claimed that the election commission’s operations have become overly centralized. He questioned the use of the commission’s app for adding and removing names from the voter list, asserting that the struggle for electoral integrity must continue and that they need to engage with the public to explain their stance.
The Congress party is demanding details of the names removed from the voter list and information about the objections and claims recorded during the amendments. They also seek data on the number of minority, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe voters whose names were deleted.
The movement is also tied to demands for accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In response to the protests, the election commission has made the database of the amended voter list and a name search feature available through its voter service portal.
The PCC meeting included notable attendees such as Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Singh, former MP Rameshwar Nikhra, former ministers, and several current legislators. Congress stated that the protest in Bhopal marks the beginning of a larger political mobilization on voter list issues, with plans for further demonstrations at district headquarters.
