The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, 27 May welcomed the Supreme Court verdict upholding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that Opposition parties must stop citing the exercise as an excuse for their successive electoral losses. The apex court ruled that the revision of voter lists falls squarely within the constitutional and statutory authority of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and is aimed at protecting the integrity of the electoral process.

BJP's Immediate Reaction

BJP leader Rohan Gupta described the judgment as a 'clear-cut' ruling in favour of the SIR process and said it exposed those who had attempted to politicise the issue. 'I believe this is a slap for those who were doing politics over the issue of SIR. This is the same SIR process that Rahul Gandhi referred to during a press conference in Bengaluru, where he spoke about alleged errors in the voter list in Karnataka. When SIR was introduced to correct those issues, it was opposed as well,' Gupta said.

He further argued that Opposition parties had repeatedly failed to secure public support and were now attempting to blame the electoral process for their defeats. 'Bihar and Bengal rejected them, and now, the Supreme Court has also made the decision. Now, they should stop this protest. Now they cannot use the SIR process as an excuse for their electoral defeat,' he added.

Bihar BJP Leaders Back the Verdict

BJP Bihar President Sanjay Saraogi said the ruling was expected, given that the Election Commission has full authority to conduct such an exercise to rectify discrepancies in voter lists. 'The voter list, which contains the names of deceased individuals, names at two places, permanently shifted individuals, or Rohingya/Bangladeshis, needs to be rectified, and the Election Commission has the right to do so,' Saraogi said. He alleged that the Opposition had attempted to create confusion before elections to mislead the public and preserve inaccurate voter entries.

Bihar Minister Shrawon Kumar also welcomed the verdict, accusing Opposition parties of spreading misinformation among voters and making 'baseless allegations' against the Election Commission.

UP Ministers Cite Transparency and Constitutional Strength

Uttar Pradesh Minister Danish Azad Ansari said the SIR process would strengthen democratic institutions by ensuring transparency and fairness. 'If elections are conducted with transparency and in a fair manner, the beauty of our Constitution will certainly become even stronger,' he said, adding that the Opposition had tried to spread confusion over the issue for political gains.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said the Supreme Court's approval reinforced the independence and authority of the Election Commission. 'The Election Commission is independent, and the Supreme Court has also put its seal of approval on it,' he said, alleging that the Opposition had historically benefited from inaccurate voter rolls.

Telangana BJP Declares Opposition Campaign 'Shattered'

BJP Telangana President N. Ramchander Rao said the campaign mounted by Opposition parties, including the INDIA bloc, against the SIR process had 'now been shattered.' 'The Supreme Court's judgment clearly says that there is no suspicious thing in the SIR process,' Rao said. He added that the Opposition's campaign was aimed at providing a convenient explanation for electoral losses rather than serving voters' interests.

The ruling is likely to intensify the political debate around voter list integrity ahead of upcoming state elections, with the BJP framing the verdict as a broader vindication of the ECI's independence.