Former Chief Minister and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah on Sunday urged Congress MLAs, party workers and defeated candidates to remain vigilant during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, scheduled from Tuesday to July 29. He warned that any lapse could lead to the deletion of eligible voters’ names and result in their own “political destruction”.

‘Make it a priority’

Addressing Congress leaders and workers from the Mysuru division at a divisional-level awareness programme on the voter list revision exercise, Mr. Siddaramaiah said party leaders should set aside all other work for the next month and ensure that no eligible voter is removed from the rolls. “If you are not vigilant, the BJP will ensure you are politically destroyed,” he said, alleging that the exercise could be “misused” to delete genuine voters’ names.

He said the Congress was organising awareness programmes across taluks and districts to educate party workers about the revision process and the precautions they should take. Referring to the allegations on the SIR exercise in other States, he said party workers should ensure that a similar situation does not arise in Karnataka.

Mr. Siddaramaiah asked Congress leaders to deploy two party workers familiar with local voters at every polling booth to monitor the revision process. “You have many years of political life ahead of you. This is a crucial month for your future. Remain alert and ensure that the alleged conspiracy hatched by the BJP does not succeed,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of undermining Constitutional values and democracy, he alleged that the ruling party was attempting to “manipulate electoral rolls for political gain”. He said protecting voters’ rights was essential to safeguarding the Constitution and democracy.

“There is both opportunity and danger before you. If you fail to act, the danger is certain,” he said, adding that only the Congress could protect constitutional values and democratic institutions.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said the poor, farmers and minorities formed the Congress’s traditional support base and warned that deletion of even a small percentage of their votes could affect election outcomes, particularly in constituencies where victory margins were narrow.

Declining strength

He also argued that the BJP’s electoral strength had declined since the 2019 general election, noting that the tally had dropped from 303 seats in 2019 to 240 seats in 2024. He attributed the decline to inflation, unemployment and the government’s failure to fulfil its promises, and alleged that the BJP was resorting to unethical tactics to retain power.

KPCC president B.K. Hariprasad, Urban Development Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, former Speaker Sudarshan and Rajya Sabha MP Chandrashekar also spoke.