Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson Mithun Ahirwar on Saturday, 30 May alleged serious irregularities in the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state, claiming that two fresh voter ID cards were issued in his name — despite the poll body's repeated assurances of rigorous door-to-door verification. Ahirwar made the allegations at a press conference at the Congress office in Bhopal.

What Ahirwar Alleged

According to the Congress leader, both newly issued voter ID cards carry the same name, father's name, and residential address — differing only in their Voter ID numbers. He alleged that his name had previously been deleted from the electoral roll during an earlier SIR round, and was restored only after media coverage of the matter. Instead of simply reinstating his name, he claimed, authorities generated two entirely new voter ID cards in his name.

Ahirwar questioned how such duplication was possible given that the ECI's verification framework relies on Aadhaar and other identity documents. 'If BLOs were actually conducting door-to-door verification, how did two separate Voter IDs get issued in the name of one person? The Election Commission should clarify which Voter ID is valid and which one is invalid,' he said.

The Three-Vote Question

Ahirwar escalated his challenge by pointing to an alleged earlier ECI statement that deleted voters would still be permitted to vote using their old voter ID cards. Given that context, he asked whether he would now be eligible to cast votes using all three cards — his original card and the two newly issued ones. 'Has one individual effectively been granted the right to cast three votes? If this can happen with a political party spokesperson, one can imagine what ordinary citizens must be facing,' he alleged.

Background: The SIR Process in MP

The Special Intensive Revision exercise in Madhya Pradesh was launched in November 2025 as part of a nationwide voter roll verification drive by the ECI. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were tasked with conducting house-to-house verification of electors. The final electoral roll was published in February 2026. The ECI had maintained throughout that the process was transparent, impartial, and grounded in physical verification of voters.

Congress Demands an Inquiry

Ahirwar demanded an independent investigation into potential duplicate voter entries and the deletion of genuine names from electoral rolls during the SIR process. He argued that if such discrepancies could surface in the case of a party spokesperson — someone with the platform to raise the issue publicly — the scale of errors affecting ordinary voters could be significantly larger. The ECI had not issued a public response to the allegations at the time of reporting.

The development adds political pressure on the poll body ahead of any forthcoming electoral exercise in the state, and is likely to intensify scrutiny of how BLO-level verification is audited and cross-checked against existing identity databases.