By Ananya Sharma 
New Delhi, September 20: The Election Commission of India is once again battling questions over the reliability of the country’s voter rolls. In the last 48 hours, separate controversies in Punjab, Delhi, and Karnataka have ignited a political storm, with opposition parties alleging manipulation while the Commission insists its processes are clean.
A Phantom Address in Jalandhar
In Jalandhar’s Defence Colony, election officials stumbled upon something bizarre at least seven registered voters were tied to a non-existent “House No. 0.” The discovery prompted the district administration to open a probe, unsure if they were dealing with a sloppy clerical mistake or something more deliberate.
Local officers are now going door to door to verify each of those names. If they don’t check out, it could mean someone created phantom voters capable of tilting results in a closely fought seat. Punjab has seen its share of messy voter list disputes in the past, and this latest twist risks reopening old wounds about inflated rolls and bogus ballots.
Delhi AAP and Congress Pile On
In Delhi, the fight is even louder. On Friday, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the Commission of deleting thousands of voter names without due process. He called it an attack on the capital’s democracy, echoing allegations made earlier this year by his party colleague Atishi.
The Commission wasted no time pushing back. Officials issued a statement calling the charges “misleading,” insisting every deletion follows the Representation of the People Act and involves field verification, notices, and a chance for appeal. They argued that nothing is done “behind closed doors.”
But the issue didn’t stop there. The Congress jumped in, backing AAP’s claims and saying the Commission’s credibility is at stake. That forced the ECI into broader clarification mode. It explained that voter roll management is a continuous process, open to objections from citizens, political parties, and candidates. In short, if something is wrong, the opposition should flag it formally rather than stage accusations in press conferences.
Bengaluru Adds to the Noise
In Bengaluru, meanwhile, the Congress has accused the Commission of withholding data from an investigation into voter fraud. The party claims the ECI is stonewalling rather than cooperating, a charge that, if true, could dent the Commission’s image even further. Officials there deny this, too, saying the data will come once verification is complete.
A History of Disputes
Voter roll controversies aren’t new. For decades, India’s elections have been haunted by allegations of duplicate entries, ghost voters, and wrongful deletions. Each time, reforms are promised, digitisation, Aadhaar linkage, and better field verification. And yet, here we are again, with the same suspicions resurfacing just as political campaigns gear up.
The stakes are obvious. In cities like Delhi or states like Punjab, where some constituencies are won by just a few hundred votes, even a handful of dodgy entries can spark mistrust. And once trust is shaken, it doesn’t matter how many explanations the ECI gives; people start to suspect the system itself.
Technology and Its Limits
The Commission has put a lot of faith in technology, particularly Aadhaar-based verification. But Aadhaar linkage is still voluntary, and privacy concerns have kept it from becoming universal. That leaves plenty of room for old-fashioned mistakes or manipulation.
Political scientists point out that opposition parties often raise alarm about voter rolls in the run-up to elections. Sometimes it’s genuine, sometimes it’s positioning a way of casting doubt on results even before votes are cast. But repeated clashes do take a toll on the institution that’s supposed to be above the fray.
What Happens Next
The Jalandhar probe will likely wrap up in a few weeks. Delhi’s dispute may head to the courts if opposition leaders want to push harder. The Commission, for its part, says it will launch awareness drives urging citizens to check their own entries early, instead of finding out on polling day that their names are missing.
For now, though, the ECI is stuck in defense mode, insisting that its house is in order. The louder the political accusations get, the harder it becomes for the Commission to hold on to the perception of neutrality that has defined it for decades.
This battle over voter rolls isn’t just about clerical errors or missing names. It’s about whether Indians still trust the referee in the world’s largest democracy. And right now, that trust is being tested.
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- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
Kavita Iyer