Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B.K. Hariprasad on Monday, 7 July 2025, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to manipulate the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka, alleging that the party was engineering the exclusion of nearly 50 lakh genuine voters from the voter list. Hariprasad further alleged that the BJP was deploying Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as a political instrument to advance these efforts against the Congress-led state government.

The Allegations at the Press Conference

Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, Hariprasad said he was responding to charges levelled earlier in the day by Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and H.D. Kumaraswamy before the Chief Electoral Officer, in which the two ministers accused the Congress of irregularities in the voter enumeration process. Hariprasad dismissed the allegations and said he could not understand why Kumaraswamy — a leader who had served as Chief Minister of Karnataka twice — had been reduced to playing such a role. He noted that Kumaraswamy himself had made sharp public criticisms of Pralhad Joshi in the past.

Hariprasad alleged that while approximately 5.65 lakh voters had already been mapped under the SIR process in Karnataka, attempts were under way to drop nearly 50 lakh legitimate voters from the rolls.

BJP's Alliance with JD(S) Under Scrutiny

Hariprasad claimed that the BJP had a pattern of weakening regional parties to serve its own political ends, citing the cases of Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal, All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Janata Dal (United). He alleged the BJP was now using its alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) in Karnataka to mount pressure on the Congress, since it was, in his words, unable to confront the ruling party directly.

On Kumaraswamy's specific claim that enumeration forms were being filled at a mosque in Ramanagara and at the homes of Congress leaders, Hariprasad said any procedural lapses would be subject to scrutiny by the Election Commission of India (ECI). He countered by asking whether there had been no alleged Bangladeshi nationals in Ramanagara when Anita Kumaraswamy, wife of the Union Minister, won the Ramanagara by-election by a margin of over one lakh votes.

Broader Electoral Roll Concerns Raised

Hariprasad alleged that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had a history of electoral malpractice, including, he claimed, casting votes in the names of deceased persons. He also alleged that 91 lakh names had been removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal, with the status of around 27 lakh voters remaining unclear. He said that in two constituencies won by the Congress — both represented by minority community legislators — the names of the elected MLAs themselves had allegedly been removed from the rolls.

He argued that denying voting rights to citizens was contrary to the spirit of democracy and that, despite earlier claims of large-scale illegal immigration in Assam, only around 23,000 such persons had ultimately been identified. He linked the current SIR exercise to earlier BJP campaigns around the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Allegations of Booth-Level Intimidation

Hariprasad alleged that BJP Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in Bengaluru's Mahalakshmi Layout were accompanying Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and allegedly soliciting voter support for the BJP. He said similar conduct was reportedly occurring in Sadashivanagar and Jayanagar.

He explained that community halls, mosques, and temples were being used to assist people in filling enumeration forms because BLOs had indicated that accessing slum areas was difficult. He said such assistance was particularly necessary for illiterate and economically weaker voters to ensure they were not disenfranchised. He also alleged that the BJP's own BLAs had failed to distribute, verify, and submit enumeration forms and were now attempting to shift the blame onto the Congress.

Congress Position and Political Context

Hariprasad stated that the Congress fully supported the removal of duplicate, fake, and deceased voters from the rolls but insisted that no eligible voter should lose the right to vote. He challenged Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to account for his contributions to Karnataka's development and the Central funds secured for the state, and invoked the stalled Mahadayi project — where, he alleged, the BJP had celebrated the scheme before elections but failed to obtain the necessary environmental clearances.

He also quoted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's recent remark that everyone residing in India is an Indian, saying Joshi should take note. Referring to the recent Legislative Council elections, he said the BJP's conduct had changed noticeably after the results. The Congress leader accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of attempting to undermine the Constitution because, he alleged, they could not secure a majority through direct popular mandate.

With the SIR process still under way, the dispute signals a deepening political confrontation between the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) combine over the integrity of Karnataka's voter rolls ahead of future elections.