Congress MP Masood questions ECI: Are 2.07 crore Maharashtra voter deletions valid?
Synopsis
Congress MP Imran Masood has put the Election Commission in a corner: if 2.07 crore Maharashtra voters are legitimately being deleted now, what does that say about the elections in which they voted? The question cuts deeper than routine Opposition criticism — it strikes at the procedural credibility of recent electoral outcomes and lands just as the UP seat-sharing battle heats up.
Key Takeaways
2.07 crore of Maharashtra's 9.78 crore registered electors are being removed from draft rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) .
Congress MP Imran Masood said the deletions imply either past elections or the current exercise is illegitimate.
Rahul Gandhi alleged 3.9 million voters were added between Maharashtra's 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, calling it 'vote theft.' Masood invoked former CEC T.N.
Seshan to contrast the ECI's current standing with its reform-era reputation.
On Uttar Pradesh seat-sharing, Masood said Congress's allocation must reflect its organisational growth, without confirming the reported 115–120 seat demand.
Congress MP Imran Masood on Wednesday sharply questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra, where 2.07 crore of the state's 9.78 crore registered electors are being removed from the draft voter list. Masood argued that the scale of deletions raises a fundamental contradiction about the legitimacy of past elections.
The Core Allegation
'Either the previous election was wrong, or this is wrong. One thing is certainly wrong,' Masood said. 'You tell us that all the elections held since 2024 are illegal. The votes that you deleted are now being restored in Bengal. Then questions will be raised against you,' he added, directing his remarks at the Election Commission.
Masood also invoked the legacy of former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan, widely credited with reforming India's electoral process in the 1990s. 'This country has not forgotten T.N. Seshan; he showed what the Election Commission is. This country will not forget you either, because you have ruined it,' he said.
Rahul Gandhi's 'Vote Theft' Charge
Masood's remarks followed a statement by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and what he called the 'Vote Chori Aayog' — a derogatory reference to the ECI — 'keep changing their tactics' with the singular goal of 'BJP's victory at any cost, and the end of India's democracy.'
Gandhi specifically referenced the Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections of 2024, claiming that 3.9 million new voters were added between the two polls. 'I said it then, and I say it today: This was vote theft,' Gandhi said. Gandhi has repeatedly targeted the Election Commission on similar grounds over the past two years, making this part of a sustained Opposition campaign rather than an isolated reaction.
What the SIR Exercise Involves
The Special Intensive Revision is a periodic exercise through which the ECI updates electoral rolls by adding new eligible voters and removing entries that are duplicated, deceased, or otherwise ineligible. However, the deletion of 2.07 crore names — roughly 21% of Maharashtra's total registered electorate — from the draft rolls has drawn scrutiny from Opposition parties who question the methodology and timing.
Notably, the Congress has pointed to a parallel development in West Bengal, where some previously deleted voter entries are reportedly being reinstated, as evidence of inconsistency in the ECI's approach across states.
UP Seat-Sharing: Masood Stakes Congress's Claim
Separately, Masood addressed the question of seat-sharing for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, arguing that Congress deserves a larger allocation reflecting the party's organisational growth under Rahul Gandhi. 'In 2017, we had two MPs, and in total, we had 44 MPs. In 2017, Akhilesh Yadav was the Chief Minister. At that time, we got 107 Assembly seats. Now our position is not the same. Our growth should be reflected in the seat allocation,' he said.
When asked about reports that Congress is preparing to demand 115–120 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Masood distanced himself from the specific figure. 'I don't know where you got this figure from. We will go into the elections from a position of respect,' he said, adding that the party would not accept terms it considers disrespectful.
What Comes Next
The ECI has not yet publicly responded to the specific criticism raised by Masood or Gandhi regarding the Maharashtra SIR deletions. With Uttar Pradesh elections on the horizon and the Opposition's credibility campaign against the Commission intensifying, the voter-roll controversy is likely to remain a flashpoint in national political discourse.
Point of View
They expose a gap in roll quality that should concern every party — including Congress, which contested and accepted results under those rolls. The Opposition's selective invocation of electoral integrity risks looking opportunistic unless it proposes a credible, bipartisan audit mechanism. More substantively, a 21% deletion rate in a single state is extraordinary and warrants transparent public explanation from the Commission — regardless of which party raises the alarm. The Seshan comparison is telling: it signals that the ECI's institutional credibility, once considered a democratic anchor, is now openly contested terrain.
NationPress
2 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Election Commission deleting 2.07 crore voters from Maharashtra's electoral rolls?
The deletions are part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a periodic ECI exercise to clean up rolls by removing duplicate, deceased, or ineligible entries. The scale — 2.07 crore out of 9.78 crore registered voters — has drawn Opposition criticism over methodology and timing.
What is Congress MP Imran Masood's objection to the voter deletions?
Masood argues that deleting 2.07 crore voters from Maharashtra's rolls raises a logical contradiction: if those entries were invalid, the elections in which they participated were also compromised. He said either the previous election or the current revision exercise must be wrong.
What did Rahul Gandhi say about Maharashtra's voter rolls?
Rahul Gandhi alleged that 3.9 million new voters were added to Maharashtra's rolls between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, calling it 'vote theft.' He has raised similar concerns about the Election Commission repeatedly over the past two years.
What is the Congress's position on Uttar Pradesh seat-sharing?
Imran Masood said Congress deserves a seat allocation that reflects its organisational growth, citing the 107 seats it contested in the 2017 UP elections. He did not confirm reports of a 115–120 seat demand, saying he was unaware of that figure.
Who is T.N. Seshan and why did Masood invoke him?
T.N. Seshan served as Chief Election Commissioner in the 1990s and is widely credited with transforming the ECI into a credible, independent institution through strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct. Masood invoked Seshan to contrast that legacy with what he characterised as the current Commission's conduct.
