CHANDIGARH, Oct 27 — Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of acting as “an extension of the BJP,” claiming that the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was designed to benefit the ruling party ahead of future elections.
“SIR is nothing but the pre-election homework the ECI now does for the BJP,” Warring said, expressing concern over the Commission’s decision to begin the revision process in states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal, which go to polls in 2026. “Punjab will definitely be next,” he added, noting that the state is due for elections in early 2027.
The PCC president alleged that the SIR exercise serves two purposes — collecting voter data for the BJP and removing names of those it believes will not support it. “This is an organized way of stealing votes,” he said. “Through the SIR, the ECI collects voter data and in the process disenfranchises Dalits, Backward Classes and minorities — groups the BJP fears won’t vote for it.”
Warring voiced apprehension that the same “tactic” would be repeated in Punjab. “The BJP will try to use the good offices of the ECI to manipulate rolls in its favour,” he alleged. “Otherwise, it has no base in Punjab, not even strong enough to win a single assembly segment.”
He said the Congress will not allow what he called “vote theft” through voter list tampering. “Our party will assign specific duties to workers at the grassroots to monitor every stage of the SIR process,” Warring said.
He also appealed to citizens to stay alert to any attempts at voter exclusion. “People must carefully check that their names are not deleted from the rolls. That’s what the BJP is counting on,” he remarked.
Calling the SIR “a political tool disguised as an administrative exercise,” Warring said the Congress will raise the issue at every forum. “Punjab’s democracy cannot be compromised for the BJP’s political convenience,” he said.
