Congress flags a 1.57 lakh voter gap in Nagaland’s electoral revision, seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal over alleged irregularities
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KOHIMA — The Congress has questioned a difference of 1,57,752 between Nagaland’s pre-revision electorate and the number of enumeration forms received during the electoral roll revision, demanding greater transparency and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities.
Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan in Kohima on Tuesday, All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Pranav Shagotra said the party was examining electoral rolls under its nationwide ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign to identify discrepancies and possible wrongful deletions.
The figures cited by the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) showed that the state had 13,57,208 electors before the revision, while enumeration forms had been received for 11,99,456, leaving a difference of 1,57,752.
The Congress said it was examining the records to determine the reasons for the gap and whether eligible voters had been excluded.
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Shagotra alleged that the Election Commission was acting in collusion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to remove voters supporting the Congress and other opposition parties. He demanded Kumar’s removal and called for action over the alleged irregularities.
He explained that three AICC observers had been assigned to Nagaland to examine electoral rolls across districts. Shagotra was responsible for Mokokchung, Zunheboto, Wokha, Longleng and Tuensang, where he said the party had identified substantial numbers of untraced voters.
According to figures presented at the press conference, Mokokchung had 1,56,302 electors, of whom 7,900 were untraced. Zunheboto had 1,04,277 electors, with 11,513 untraced, while Wokha had 1,88,018 electors, with 6,547 untraced.
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Longleng had approximately 24,000 electors, with 3,325 untraced, and Tuensang had 80,400 electors, with 9,032 untraced.
Shagotra argued that discrepancies in electoral rolls could affect election results, particularly in smaller states where victory margins could be narrow.
He added that electronic copies of the rolls would make it easier to identify duplicate registrations and examine deleted entries.
He alleged that the Election Commission had initially declined to provide electronic copies of electoral rolls sought by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, supplying paper copies instead. He said electronic records were necessary to scrutinise entries at the district and Assembly constituency levels.
Shagotra also referred to alleged irregularities identified by the Congress in other parts of the country, including cases involving people declared dead who were reportedly alive and individuals allegedly registered as voters more than once.
The party has deployed approximately 208 observers nationwide to examine voter deletions and collect reports, he said. The findings from Nagaland would be submitted to the party leadership after verification.
The Congress is also preparing for a nationwide rally scheduled for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, which Shagotra said would be addressed by Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders.
NPCC seeks explanation
NPCC president and Lok Sabha member S Supongmeren Jamir said the party was in contact with election authorities to understand the reasons for the difference between the pre-revision electorate and the number of enumeration forms received.
According to him, the authorities had assured the party that there had been no intentional manipulation or deliberate deletion of voters. The discrepancy could have arisen from people shifting residences, duplicate entries and other reasons, he said, adding that the matter required further examination.
Jamir added that the Election department was conducting house-to-house verification as part of the revision process. Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties, including the Congress, were also examining the records.
Also read: Nothing can save CEC Gyanesh Kumar; ECI's IT system has to be thoroughly revamped: Congress
He said some duplicate entries might have been removed electronically, resulting in certain names being categorised as untraceable in the revised records. The commission was still examining the matter and had not delivered its final assessment, he added.
Jamir acknowledged the need to scrutinise Nagaland’s electoral rolls carefully, citing the possibility of multiple registrations associated with different locations, including villages, towns and urban areas.
He said the party wanted to establish whether the discrepancies could be explained by the reasons provided by election officials and whether any eligible voters had been wrongly excluded.
NPCC working president Khriedi Theunuo also referred to an October 12 communication from the state election office stating that no eligible voter should be left out of the electoral rolls.
He urged eligible citizens to enrol and said Booth Level Officers had been directed to conduct house-to-house visits to identify people who had not registered.
According to the Congress leaders, the party would continue examining the records alongside election authorities and seek accountability if wrongful deletions or other irregularities were established.