Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Karnataka Opposition Leader R. Ashoka on Saturday, 31 October launched a sharp attack on the Congress party at a press conference in Hubballi, accusing it of raising objections to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls only when it loses elections. Ashoka's remarks came amid the BJP's ongoing nationwide public awareness campaign on the SIR process.

The Double-Standard Charge

Ashoka argued that Congress applies an inconsistent standard to electoral processes. 'When Congress loses elections, its leaders suddenly remember that EVMs are faulty. However, when they win, everything is fine,' he said, pointing to states such as Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh — where Congress currently governs — as examples where the party has accepted electoral outcomes without protest.

He alleged that Congress has lost more than 59 Assembly elections between 2014 and 2025, yet consistently attributes defeats to the election process rather than to internal factors. 'The Election Commission or the voter list is not the reason for its defeats; the primary reason is the lack of public confidence in Rahul Gandhi's leadership,' Ashoka said, adding that without a leadership change, the party has no political future.

What the SIR Process Involves

Ashoka defended the SIR exercise as a constitutionally sound effort to clean up voter rolls. He stated that in Karnataka alone, the names of approximately 24.17 lakh deceased voters have been removed, and around 7.14 lakh duplicate voter registrations have been detected and struck off. He questioned the Congress narrative, noting that no clear statistics have been presented on how many legitimate votes were allegedly deleted illegally.

'Even now, if a name is missing from the voter list or any correction is needed, there is an opportunity to file an appeal. Yet Congress is creating confusion among people without any basis,' he said. He also cited Congress leader Kapil Sibal as having previously acknowledged problems of deceased and duplicate names in voter lists, arguing that the SIR process addresses precisely those concerns.

Bengaluru Voter List and Migrant Registrations

Ashoka drew attention to the specific challenge posed by Bengaluru's demographic composition. He noted that the city's average voter turnout over the past twenty years has not exceeded 45–48 per cent, compared to 80–90 per cent in rural Karnataka. He attributed part of this to voters from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and other states who are registered both in Bengaluru and in their native constituencies.

'In the Padmanabhanagar Assembly constituency alone, there are about one lakh voters,' he noted. He argued that removing such dual registrations upholds the constitutional principle of 'one person, one vote,' which he described as a core duty of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Ballot Paper Elections and the NDA Result

Ashoka used the outcome of the recently held Karnataka Legislative Council elections to counter Congress's EVM allegations. He said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won all four seats in those elections, which were conducted using ballot papers rather than EVMs. 'If, as Congress claims, irregularities are happening in EVMs, shouldn't Congress have won in the ballot elections? Congress has lost even on ballot paper,' he said pointedly.

Broader Political Allegations

Ashoka also took aim at Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge's reported call for the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and fresh general elections. He challenged Congress to first dissolve the Assemblies of the four states it currently governs and seek fresh mandates there before advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on elections. He further alleged that some Congress leaders had threatened to instigate unrest 'on the model of Nepal and Bangladesh,' calling such statements 'against the spirit of democracy.' He also alleged, without providing specifics, that there were questions about 'external forces, including funding from America' influencing the party — claims that Congress has not responded to in this context.

As the SIR debate intensifies ahead of upcoming electoral cycles, both parties are expected to sharpen their positions on voter roll integrity and EVM reliability.