Jagan blames SIR for Mamata, Stalin defeats; launches 'Two Years of Backstabbing' campaign
Synopsis
Jagan Mohan Reddy has drawn a direct line between the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls and the assembly segment losses of Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin — citing specific deletion figures for Bhabanipur and Kolathur. With SIR now coming to Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP is treating it as an electoral threat, while simultaneously launching a nine-day statewide protest against Chandrababu Naidu's two years in power.
Key Takeaways
Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that SIR vote deletions caused the assembly defeats of Mamata Banerjee (Bhabanipur) and MK Stalin (Kolathur).
He claimed 45,982 votes were deleted in Bhabanipur ; Mamata Banerjee reportedly lost by 15,000 votes .
In Kolathur , 71,000 voters were allegedly removed; Stalin reportedly lost by 8,000 votes .
State-wide deletions cited: 91 lakh in West Bengal and 94 lakh in Tamil Nadu during SIR.
YSRCP will run the 'Two Years of Backstabbing' protest campaign from 4 June to 12 June across Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan directed cadres to scrutinise electoral rolls for suspected bogus TDP -linked votes ahead of SIR in Andhra Pradesh.
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on 27 May blamed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for the assembly segment defeats of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, arguing that large-scale vote deletions during the exercise had distorted election outcomes. Speaking at the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) central office in Tadepalli, Jagan also warned his party leaders to stay vigilant as SIR is set to be conducted in Andhra Pradesh.
The SIR Vote Deletion Claims
According to Jagan Mohan Reddy, 91 lakh votes were deleted in West Bengal and 94 lakh votes were removed in Tamil Nadu during the SIR process. He specifically pointed to the Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal, where he claimed 45,982 votes were deleted — and where Mamata Banerjee reportedly lost by 15,000 votes. In Tamil Nadu's Kolathur constituency, he alleged 71,000 voters were struck off the rolls, with Stalin losing by 8,000 votes. These claims were presented as evidence of the electoral damage that voter-list revisions can cause, though they reflect the YSRCP leader's assertions and have not been independently verified.
Warning Ahead of SIR in Andhra Pradesh
With SIR scheduled to be undertaken in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan cautioned party cadres to closely scrutinise electoral rolls, identify what he described as bogus and duplicate votes linked to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He cited Kuppam — the constituency represented by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu — as an example, alleging the voter lists there contained thousands of suspicious entries with repeated names and identical family details. He urged workers to strengthen the party at the grassroots level in preparation.
'Two Years of Backstabbing' Protest Campaign
Accusing the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government of betraying public trust and failing to honour its election promises, Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a statewide protest campaign titled 'Two Years of Backstabbing', scheduled from 4 June to 12 June. The campaign will begin on 4 June at mandal centres across the state, where party leaders and workers will display Naidu's election manifesto, guarantees, and bonds given to voters — and burn copies as a mark of protest.
Town hall meetings at constituency headquarters are planned for either 8 or 9 June, bringing together farmers, women, youth, and representatives from various sections of society to discuss what the YSRCP describes as two years of anti-people governance and broken promises. The agitation will culminate on 12 June with large-scale rallies at all constituency centres across Andhra Pradesh. Jagan said he would personally monitor the conduct of the protest programmes.
Local Body Elections and Coalition Pressure
The YSRCP chief also directed party leaders to prepare seriously for the upcoming local body elections. Referring to recent local body by-elections, he alleged that the ruling coalition had misused official machinery and police to intimidate YSRCP leaders and workers. Despite such pressures, he said the party must treat local body elections as a matter of prestige and remain united against what he called the ruling party's conspiracies.
The protests are aimed, according to Jagan Mohan Reddy, at exposing the government's failure to improve living standards despite pre-election commitments — a charge the ruling coalition has not yet formally responded to. How the campaign translates into ground-level mobilisation ahead of local body polls will be closely watched.
Point of View
He is building a ready explanation should YSRCP underperform in upcoming local body contests in Andhra Pradesh. The specific figures he cited — 45,982 deletions in Bhabanipur, 71,000 in Kolathur — lend the argument a surface precision that will be difficult to verify or refute quickly, giving the claim longer legs in political discourse. What is notable is the national framing: invoking Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, neither of whom are YSRCP allies, signals that Jagan is attempting to build cross-party legitimacy for a concern that primarily serves his own party's interests. The 'Two Years of Backstabbing' campaign, meanwhile, is a direct bid to reset the YSRCP's opposition identity ahead of elections — but its success will depend on whether the party can translate protest energy into organisational recovery at the grassroots.
NationPress
12 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Jagan Mohan Reddy's claim about SIR and the defeats of Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin?
Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that large-scale deletion of votes during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls caused the assembly segment defeats of Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and MK Stalin in Kolathur. He claimed 45,982 votes were deleted in Bhabanipur — where Banerjee reportedly lost by 15,000 votes — and 71,000 voters were removed in Kolathur, where Stalin reportedly lost by 8,000 votes.
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls?
SIR is a periodic exercise conducted by election authorities to update and clean up voter rolls, including the deletion of duplicate, deceased, or relocated voters. Jagan Mohan Reddy and several other political parties have raised concerns that the process has resulted in the removal of genuine voters, allegedly affecting election outcomes in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
What is the YSRCP's 'Two Years of Backstabbing' campaign?
It is a nine-day statewide protest campaign announced by YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, running from 4 June to 12 June, targeting the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government in Andhra Pradesh. The campaign will include mandal-level events, town hall meetings on 8 or 9 June, and large-scale rallies on 12 June to highlight what the YSRCP describes as broken election promises and governance failures.
What did Jagan Mohan Reddy allege about TDP voter rolls in Andhra Pradesh?
Jagan alleged that voter lists in constituencies like Kuppam — represented by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu — contain thousands of suspicious entries with repeated names and identical family details, which he linked to the TDP. He urged YSRCP cadres to scrutinise electoral rolls and flag such entries ahead of the upcoming SIR in Andhra Pradesh.
How is YSRCP preparing for upcoming local body elections in Andhra Pradesh?
Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed party leaders to treat local body elections as a matter of prestige and prepare strongly at the grassroots level. He alleged that the ruling coalition misused official machinery and police during recent local body by-elections to intimidate YSRCP workers, and called on the party to remain united against such pressure.
