Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Thursday, Oct 29, alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the party’s performance in elections conducted using ballot papers.
Speaking to the media, Lad said, “SIR is fraud, and because of that, only the BJP is winning the elections. It is proved beyond a point...”
His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress over its performance in the recent Legislative Council (MLC) elections across Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. The elections covered 28 constituencies representing teachers and graduates, with voting conducted through ballot papers rather than electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Modi had posted on social media that “MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states - Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?”
Responding to the criticism, Lad questioned the BJP’s own performance in the elections and argued that the results deserved closer scrutiny.
“Since they used ballots, they have lost 14 elections out of 28 seats. If I'm not wrong, 16 seats were won by the BJP, and 12 seats were won by the other parties. Congress has not scored, fair enough, but BJP has lost so many seats. In Varanasi, why did they lose then?...” Lad said.
The BJP itself won 13 of the 28 seats, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 16. Congress won one seat overall. In Karnataka, the BJP and its ally Janata Dal (Secular) swept all four MLC constituencies, dealing a setback to the ruling Congress government.
Lad also questioned the political significance of the results in Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency, where the Samajwadi Party (SP) secured a victory in the teachers’ constituency and challenged the BJP in the graduates’ constituency.
His remarks come amid the Congress’s ongoing campaign against alleged voter-list manipulation and its demand for greater scrutiny of electoral processes. The party has opposed aspects of the SIR exercise, arguing that errors or improper deletions could deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights.
However, SIR and the use of ballot papers are two separate issues. SIR involves the revision and verification of electoral rolls, while ballot papers are a method of casting votes. The results of the MLC elections, by themselves, do not establish that the revision exercise has been manipulated to benefit any political party.
Lad’s comments add to the political debate over electoral transparency, voter-list revision and the credibility of India’s election process.
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