Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh Alleges Fake Entries in Bhopal Voter List

A fresh controversy has erupted over the electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh after former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh submitted documents to the Chief Electoral Officer alleging large-scale irregularities in the voter list of the Narela Assembly constituency in Bhopal.

Singh on Monday visited the state Election Office and handed over what he described as "documentary evidence" suggesting that dozens of voters have been registered at residential addresses where only a handful of people actually live. The complaint relates to the recently completed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

According to the documents submitted, several houses in Ratan Colony in the Karond area of Ward 75 appear to have unusually high numbers of voters registered at their addresses. Singh alleged that in some cases, 30 to 40 voters are listed at homes where only 6 to 8 family members reside, raising serious questions about the integrity of the electoral roll.

To support his allegations, Singh submitted affidavits from homeowners highlighting specific cases.

At House No. 21, owned by Hamir Singh Yadav, the property has six rooms and only four family members who are eligible voters. However, the electoral roll reportedly lists around 39 to 40 voters registered at the same address. Another case involves House No. 10, owned by Kamlesh Kumar Gupta. According to his affidavit, about eight legitimate voters live in the house, but the voter list shows around 36 names linked to the address. Similarly, Pokhan Lal Sahu, owner of House No. 2, stated that only seven voters reside in his house, but the electoral roll shows about 37 names registered there. The homeowners claimed that many of the listed individuals have never lived at their addresses and are completely unknown to them.

Digvijaya Singh alleged that during the Special Intensive Revision exercise, which was meant to ensure 100 per cent door-to-door verification of voters, the process may have been compromised. According to the complainants, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) did not conduct proper physical verification at their houses, leading to the addition of numerous "bogus voters."

The Congress leader also claimed that while fake names were added in large numbers, several genuine voters' names were removed from the rolls, raising concerns about the fairness of the revision process. Singh has demanded a thorough investigation by the Election Commission and strict action against officials found responsible for negligence or manipulation. He also urged the Commission to immediately delete fake entries and restore the names of genuine voters.

"The integrity of elections depends on the credibility of the voter list. If such large discrepancies exist, they must be investigated and corrected before any electoral exercise," Singh said while submitting the complaint.

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar Jha acknowledged receiving the complaint and said the matter would be examined according to legal procedures. He said that deleting a name from the voter list requires a formal complaint under Form-7, which includes a declaration and verification by election officials. "Lower-level officers conduct the verification process and assist in resolving such issues. Whatever facts emerge from the inquiry, appropriate action will be taken as per the rules," he said.

Kamlesh Kumar Gupta, one of the complainants, said he has been living in his house since 2007 and has repeatedly raised concerns about suspicious entries. According to him, there were around 70 fake names earlier, and even after the SIR exercise, about 42 questionable names remain on the voter list.

Another complainant, Pokhan Lal Sahu, alleged that 65 fake names were earlier linked to his address, and even after the revision process, 37 names remain, despite complaints and affidavits submitted to authorities.

Singh was accompanied by several Congress leaders and complainants, including Ratan Kumar Gupta, Pokhan Lal Sahu, and Dev Narayan Vishwakarma, when he submitted the documents to the Election Commission.