Congress demands independent probe into Haryana elections
The party will raise issues of alleged rigging and the current Special Intensive Review of voter lists in these meetings.
The Haryana Congress is set to launch a 'Vote Save, Country Save' campaign across the state from November 12 to 24. The party will raise issues related to alleged irregularities in the 2024 Assembly elections and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists during these meetings. The Congress demands an independent investigation into the allegations related to the previous elections and the reinstatement of eligible voters whose names have been wrongfully removed from the current revision. This campaign comes at a time when the final voter list for Haryana is scheduled to be published on November 30.
Sanjay Dutt, the Congress in-charge for Haryana, and state president Rao Narendra Singh will lead the campaign. Both will tour the state and engage directly with people at the meetings. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress General Secretary Kumari Selja, and Randeep Singh Surjewala, along with Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda and former state president Udaybhan, will also participate. The party has announced the involvement of MPs, MLAs, former ministers, and district office bearers.
The purpose of the meetings is to provide the Congress party an opportunity to raise the issue of the voter list at the local level. If there are multiple suspicious entries at the same address in a village or assembly constituency, or complaints about eligible voters being left out, detailed information about the relevant booth and list becomes crucial for investigation. The significance of the campaign will be determined by how many such complaints arise from these meetings that can be investigated by the election officials.
The BJP formed the government for the third consecutive time in the October 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, winning 48 out of 90 seats. The Congress secured 37 seats. The vote share difference between the two parties was less than one percentage point, with the BJP receiving 39.94 percent and the Congress 39.09 percent of the votes. In November 2025, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged that there were around 25 lakh suspicious entries in the electoral rolls. He presented examples of names registered at multiple places, suspicious addresses, and the use of the same photograph in different entries. The Congress claims that these alleged irregularities benefited the BJP.
The Election Commission had termed the allegations baseless at that time and questioned why political parties' booth-level agents did not raise objections to these entries during the revision of the list. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has also dismissed these allegations. Three questions are crucial in the investigation of the controversy: How many entries in the list were actually incorrect, how many of them were voted on, and did it affect the outcome of any seat? Answers to these questions will require a booth-wise examination of records.
The questions regarding the 2024 elections are related to the voter list used at that time and the voting process. The current SIR raises the question of which voters' names will be included in the next list. The Congress has demanded a halt to the revision and the restoration of the names of eligible voters who were wrongfully removed. The party has also reiterated its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a criminal investigation against him. The party alleges that under his leadership, the Commission has failed to ensure transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
According to Haryana's election officials, the purpose of the revision is to ensure the inclusion of eligible voters' names in the voter list. Under the revised schedule, pending claims, objections, and notices must be resolved by November 20. This is the deadline for decisions on pending cases. The final list is to be released on November 30. Thus, a significant part of the meetings will take place during the period when election officials are addressing pending cases.
Now, it will be interesting to see what details emerge from the complaints raised in the meetings and how the pending cases are resolved in the list published on November 30. For voters who have claimed to have their names included, the most straightforward question is whether their names will be listed in the final list or not. Meanwhile, the Congress's demand for an independent investigation regarding the 2024 elections will be determined by booth-wise evidence and the Election Commission's response to it. It will be very interesting to see whether this entire exercise leads to any improvement in the transparency of the electoral process.