SIR is weakening democracy, say activists

As the Election Commission of India (ECI) rolled out the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Thursday (May 14, 2026), civil society activists, including former Election Commissioners, questioned the impartiality of the exercise, alleging that it was weakening democracy.

“In Bengal, people who have been left out [of electoral rolls] have passports and birth certificates. But the Supreme Court says don’t vote this time, you can vote next time,” transparency rights activist Anjali Bharadwaj said at a discussion on ‘SIR—Elections—One Nation, One Election’ on Thursday (May 14, 2026).

The event was organised by the Constitutional Conduct Group and the Group on Federalism and Elections.

‘Vote dacoity’

Ms. Bharadwaj pointed out that, of the 27 lakh people left out after the adjudication process in West Bengal, only 2,000 have been heard by the ECI appointed tribunals so far.

“In 150 seats, the winning margin was less than the number of deletions. That is almost 50% of the seats,” she said, adding that the ECI was not willing to share the CCTV footage of the polling booths. “How will the common man know whether elections took place properly? Are the elections free and fair? That is the big question.”

Bureaucrat-turned-activist Harsh Mander held that no impartial observer can say that free and fair polls are taking place in India now. “In Bengal, not vote chori but vote dacoity took place openly,” he alleged.

There is a need to understand not just how, but also why, elections are being stolen in this country, Mr. Mander said. “If we don’t understand this, then we don’t understand how grave this situation is,” he said.

Calling for SC intervention

Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said he had many questions about the SIR, the answers for which have not been found in the last 11 months. “The ECI had said that the SIR was being conducted under Article 326 of the Constitution. Will the ECI now share data that under Article 326, how many people have been kept out of the electoral rolls?” he asked.

Mr. Lavasa observed that the Supreme Court had earlier said that if there were mass deletions under SIR, then it would intervene. “Now mass deletion has happened. When will they intervene?” he asked.

Concerning the proposal for simultaneous elections — called ‘One Nation One Election (ONOE)’ — he insisted that every State has an autonomous character. For example, why would Puducherry be worried about elections in Himachal Pradesh, he asked. “If ONOE is meant to strengthen democracy, I have my doubts,” he added.