Congress flags 1.57 lakh voter-entry discrepancies in Nagaland, seeks verification

The Congress on October 27 alleged discrepancies involving 1,57,752 voter entries in Nagaland and called for greater transparency and verification of electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan in Kohima, AICC observers Pranav Shagotra and Banna Gupta, along with Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president and Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir, said the party was examining voter-list discrepancies as part of its nationwide exercise.

Jamir said Nagaland had 13,57,208 voters, while records available with the state Election Department accounted for 11,99,456, leaving a difference of 1,57,752 entries.

He said the difference had been attributed to several categories, including untraceable voters, permanent migration, deceased voters, duplicate or already-enrolled entries, and other reasons. The department was conducting further verification, including house-to-house visits, to establish whether the entries had been removed on valid grounds, he added.

Citing figures presented by the party, Shagotra said 7,900 voter entries in Mokokchung, 11,513 in Zunheboto, 6,547 in Kiphire, 3,325 in Longleng and 9,032 in Tuensang had been categorised as untraceable or deleted.

He alleged that discrepancies in electoral rolls could influence election outcomes, particularly in smaller states where victory margins were often narrow.

Shagotra also questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's handling of transparency concerns, alleging that electronic voter lists had initially not been provided despite requests from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Access to digital records would help identify duplicate entries and deleted names, he said.

The Congress has deployed observers across districts to compare available records and establish the reasons for the discrepancies. The findings will be submitted to the All India Congress Committee (AICC), he added.

Gupta called for the removal of Kumar and alleged that central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, were being used for political purposes.

On the SIR exercise, Gupta said voter verification was necessary to remove duplicate entries and update records of deceased or permanently relocated voters. However, he alleged that the process risked excluding eligible voters in some parts of the country.

NPCC working president Khriedi Theunuo urged eligible voters to ensure their names were included in the electoral rolls.

Referring to an Election Office communication issued on October 12, he said the authorities had stated that no eligible voter should be left out.