BJP Defends SIR as 'Exercise in Unanimity' Amid Election Commissioner Dissent Row

The BJP on Wednesday pushed back against criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, arguing that recorded objections by Election Commissioners reflect democratic deliberation rather than institutional dysfunction.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the SIR was "an exercise in unanimity" and that exchanges of views among the three commissioners were "signs of a vibrant democracy." He contended that the absence of communication among commissioners would be a greater marker of dictatorship, and that the recorded correspondence showed a healthy process in which issues were discussed, notes taken, and decisions ultimately reached.

Patra was responding to an investigation published on September 23, 2026, which reported that over the past 10 months Election Commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times to certain decisions and administrative instructions under the SIR process. The report triggered sharp Opposition backlash, renewed allegations of "vote chori" (voter theft), and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Citing the Election Commission of India's own press note in response to the report, Patra said the poll body had made clear that after official deliberations the SIR was "ultimately carried out with consensus," with no difference of opinion or divergence of views among the three commissioners.

On the voter-theft allegations, Patra said polling figures from 2014 onwards had already been shared at earlier press conferences, and that data from the recent Bengal polls would also be presented. He pointed to an examination of the 20 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal with the highest voter deletions, saying the TMC won the most seats there with 13, the Congress one, and the BJP six.

Responding to claims that Gyanesh Kumar's appointment as CEC, which took effect on February 19, 2025, had benefited the BJP, Patra said the party had been winning elections by large margins well before he assumed the post. He cited previous instances of the BJP forming state governments between 2014 and Kumar's appointment, and raised past Congress-era appointments to the Election Commission, including K V K Sundaram, Nagendra Singh, R K Trivedi, T N Seshan, M S Gill, J M Lyngdoh and Navin Chawla.

Patra also noted that the Supreme Court had, on May 27, 2026, upheld the legal validity of the SIR. He said that if there were no trust in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission or EVMs, then trust must rest with the people, who cast their votes and decide whether a party wins or loses.