By Ananya Sharma 
Indore, February 5: A day after a deeply unsettling video from Indore jolted social media, there was no fresh official word on Wednesday on whether the affected voter’s name has been restored or whether responsibility has been fixed for the ordeal caught on camera. Inside government offices, the matter remained routine paperwork. Outside, it had already become something else entirely.
The video, now circulating widely, shows an Indore resident returning again and again to the SDM office, accompanied each time by his blind elderly mother. His grievance is simple. His name vanished from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision, despite repeated submissions of documents. What makes the clip difficult to watch is not just the allegation, but the visible exhaustion. At one point, the man breaks down, struggling to explain how months of visits have left him choosing between earning a living and reclaiming his right to vote.
As of Wednesday evening, district officials had not issued any case-specific clarification. No timeline. No acknowledgment. No confirmation that the issue has been resolved.
A Video That Struck A Nerve
The footage first appeared on Instagram before spreading rapidly across Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube between February 4 and 5. It does not rely on dramatic editing or slogans. The camera lingers on a son standing beside his mother, documents in hand, voice cracking as he describes a process that seems endless.
He says they have been called back week after week. Forms submitted. Proofs rechecked. Yet nothing changes. His mother, unable to see, stands silently through it all.
There has been no official denial of the account shown in the video. Nor has there been confirmation that the voter’s name was wrongly deleted or subsequently restored. That silence has only sharpened public anger.
Online Outrage And Political Overtones
Once the clip gained traction, the reaction followed a familiar arc. Social media users described the Special Intensive Revision as chaotic and punishing for ordinary citizens. Many framed the episode as evidence of state apathy, with posts blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Madhya Pradesh government for what they called systematic harassment.
Comments under the video spoke of similar experiences. Elderly parents are asked to appear in person. Migrant workers discovered deletions only after deadlines had passed. Families were unsure whom to approach once their names disappeared from the rolls.
Still, supporters of the process pushed back. They argued that SIR is a standard exercise carried out under the supervision of the Election Commission of India, meant to remove duplicate entries, deceased voters, and outdated records. They pointed out that grievance mechanisms exist, even if imperfect.
The Numbers Behind The Anger
The reason the Indore case has resonated so widely is scale. According to reporting by Dainik Jagran English, between 39.6 lakh and 42 lakh names were deleted across Madhya Pradesh during the most recent SIR exercise.
Indore stood out. In some assembly segments, over 71,000 voters were removed. The deletions cut across political lines. Constituencies represented by BJP ministers and sitting MLAs also recorded strikingly low restoration rates, complicating claims that the exercise targeted only opposition supporters.
As it turns out, filing objections did not always translate into swift corrections. In many areas, restored names accounted for only a small fraction of deletions, raising uncomfortable questions about how field verification was actually conducted.
Opposition Pressure, Official Quiet
The Congress and other opposition parties have seized on the Indore video, calling it a human example of what they describe as mass disenfranchisement. Leaders have demanded district-level inquiries, home-based verification for the elderly, and automatic restoration where previous voter records already exist.
They have also asked why a visually impaired woman was repeatedly summoned to an office instead of officials resolving the matter through available databases.
For now, the administration’s response has been procedural at best. No officer has publicly addressed the specific video. No assurance has been given on timelines or accountability. The issue remains suspended in that familiar space between public outrage and bureaucratic inertia.
Why This Case Refuses To Fade
Beyond party politics, the Indore incident has tapped into a deeper unease. Voting is not just a legal right. It is also a logistical one. For daily wage workers, for senior citizens, for people with disabilities, every additional visit to a government office carries a real cost.
Election authorities insist that revisions are necessary to protect electoral integrity. Critics counter that integrity loses meaning when genuine voters are worn down by the process. Both claims can be true. The problem lies in how policy meets the street.
For now, the man in the video remains an unresolved figure. His name may yet be restored quietly, without announcement. Or the matter may drift into the background, replaced by the next controversy.
What will linger longer is the image of a son holding papers beside his blind mother, waiting for a system that promised order but delivered fatigue instead.
Stay ahead with Hindustan Herald — bringing you trusted news, sharp analysis, and stories that matter across Politics, Business, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle, and more.
Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, and join our Telegram community @hindustanherald for real-time updates.
Covers Indian politics, governance, and policy developments with over a decade of experience in political reporting.
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
