NPCC calls for house-to-house verification to identify genuine voters wrongly removed during SIR
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has alleged that 7,900 names were deleted from electoral rolls in Mokokchung district during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), calling on party workers to verify the figures and identify genuine voters whose names may have been wrongly removed.
Addressing a press conference at Elate Hall, Mokokchung, on October 28, All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Pranav Shagotra said the Congress was examining electoral roll deletions across districts and Assembly constituencies under its nationwide “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” campaign.
Shagotra said Mokokchung had 1,56,302 registered voters, of whom 7,900 names had reportedly been deleted. He urged party workers and citizens to cross-check the figures at polling booth, block, district and Assembly constituency levels before the revision process was completed.
Alleging widespread electoral irregularities through the SIR, Shagotra said the campaign was aimed at protecting democratic rights and holding the Election Commission accountable. He also called on district office-bearers to coordinate with the state Congress leadership to ensure participation in the INDIA bloc’s planned programmes in Delhi on October 30 and 31, followed by a rally on November 1.
NPCC president and Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir urged Congress workers, particularly Block Level Agents (BLAs), to take the house-to-house verification process seriously. While commending the work of local Booth Level Officers (BLOs), he said the deletion figures still required scrutiny to determine whether the stated reasons applied in each case.
Jamir said the INDIA bloc was demanding the restoration of eligible voters’ names and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It was also seeking a shift from electronic voting machines (EVMs) to ballot papers, he said.
Mokokchung District Congress Committee president I Temsu Jamir said the district’s reported deletion rate was 5.54%, compared with 11.6% for Nagaland. He said the figures received from election authorities were still being examined and constituency-wise data was being processed.
According to the figures shared by Temsu Jamir, around 3,700 voters were listed as permanently shifted, 1,337 as absent or untraceable, 2,455 as deceased and 18 under other reasons, accounting for the total of 7,900 deletions. He cautioned that the categories and figures had yet to be verified.
Temsu Jamir said the ongoing house-to-house physical verification would help establish the constituency-wise figures and determine whether genuine voters had been removed. He urged constituency-level Congress workers to examine the data and report cases requiring further scrutiny.
He said electoral roll deletions could affect eligible voters regardless of political affiliation, adding that the issue concerned citizens’ democratic rights and their ability to have their voices heard.
NPCC general secretary and Mokokchung in-charge Akuonuo Miachieo said Shagotra’s visit was intended to strengthen the party’s organisational efforts and coordination on the SIR issue. She urged party leaders and workers to remain united in protecting every eligible citizen’s right to vote.
