‘Unable To Win Elections, Congress Is Discrediting SIR To Hide Failures’, Says BJP MP Baijayant Panda

Pune: Accusing the Congress of deliberately spreading misinformation and attempting to discredit the Election Commission through its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, BJP MP Baijayant Panda on Thursday alleged that the Opposition was using the issue to conceal its repeated electoral defeats and protect duplicate and bogus voters. He maintained that the SIR process was neither new nor politically motivated and urged those questioning the exercise to approach the Supreme Court with evidence rather than create public confusion.

Addressing a press conference in Pune, Panda said SIR had been conducted 12 times previously and was only being undertaken later than its intended schedule this time. He alleged that the Congress was attempting to erode public confidence in democratic institutions by questioning the electoral process.

He said, “Congress has lost 56 Assembly elections and is creating this confusion to hide its failures. They are unable to win elections through a genuine process and are now trying to discredit the election system.”

He also compared the Opposition’s criticism of the Election Commission with what he described as its earlier attempts to question the credibility of the Army, Air Force and other national institutions.

‘Three crore voters should come forward’

Defending the deletion and verification exercise, Panda challenged Opposition parties to identify people whose names had allegedly been removed wrongly. Referring to approximately 13 crore electors categorised as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate, he claimed that around 50% were shifted, while others were accounted for as deceased or duplicate voters. However, approximately three crore people remained unverified despite repeated visits.

“If these three crore people have genuinely lost their names, they should come forward and get their names restored. Nobody is stopping them. Why are they not coming forward?” he asked.

He alleged that duplicate and dummy voters had previously been used to influence electoral outcomes. He also claimed that around 96-97% of voters flagged for logical discrepancies had subsequently been mapped or verified.

Responding to concerns over Maharashtra’s electoral roll, Panda cited figures of approximately 1.5 crore shifted or absent voters, 35 lakh deceased voters and 18 lakh duplicate entries. He said the reasons behind the absence of unverified voters needed further examination but maintained that genuine voters could approach the Election Commission or Booth Level Officers to restore their names.

Congress accused of spreading political narratives

Panda alleged that Congress had previously created a narrative around the Constitution during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and was now using SIR to create another political controversy.

He said, “Just as they spread misinformation about the Constitution in 2024, they are now spreading a bogus narrative about SIR. When people are made aware of the facts, they realise they have been misled.”

He said the BJP was countering the allegations through press conferences, public meetings, padayatras and interactions with students, youth and women’s groups. He also criticised Opposition parties for repeatedly disrupting Parliament.

Raises issue of illegal immigration

On allegations of illegal immigration, Panda claimed that infiltration through the Assam and West Bengal borders had continued for decades due to inadequate border fencing and enforcement. He said the Centre had strengthened border security through fencing, digital surveillance and other measures.

“Infiltrators have occupied government land, forests and religious properties in Assam. Action is now being taken to remove such encroachments,” he said, alleging that earlier governments had failed to adequately address the issue.

Defends EVMs, responds to electoral defeats

On the Opposition’s demand for ballot paper voting, Panda maintained that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had proved robust and were being adopted by other countries. He recalled instances of ballot box capturing and electoral malpractice before the introduction of EVMs.

Responding to the BJP’s defeats in recent Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, including in Pune, he said victories and defeats were part of politics. “When we lose, we introspect instead of blaming the system. We go back to the people and work to convince them,” Panda said.

He also criticised Congress for failing to undertake introspection despite repeated electoral defeats, claiming that the party had lost 52 Assembly elections in the last 11 years.

On the impact of the SIR controversy on next year’s Assembly elections, Panda said, “Absolutely not. This narrative is being exposed, and people are understanding the facts.”