Muslims fear exclusion as India removes 130 million names from voter rolls

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is facing mounting protests over the removal of more than 130 million names from the country’s electoral rolls, with opposition parties alleging that the revision has disproportionately affected Muslims and other minority groups, The Telegraph reports.

The Election Commission of India launched the exercise to remove duplicate, deceased and ineligible voters from the electoral rolls. However, opposition leaders allege that the process has disenfranchised millions of eligible voters and could benefit Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which follows a Hindu nationalist political ideology.

On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and hundreds of opposition lawmakers staged a protest in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the cancellation of the revision exercise and a return to paper ballots.

Police intervened and forced Gandhi onto a bus. He and his sister, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were briefly detained. Delhi Police said the protesters were removed to maintain law and order and prevent the situation from escalating.

The BJP and the Election Commission have denied allegations that the revision was politically motivated.

The latest demonstration followed protests in Mumbai and Delhi organised four days earlier by the Cockroach Janta Party, a Gen-Z political movement. The group has described the demonstrations as the beginning of a nationwide campaign and called for another round of protests on October 10.

Known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the electoral roll exercise began in Bihar in June 2025 before expanding to other parts of India. The process required voters to submit documents to establish their eligibility to remain on the electoral rolls.

Opposition parties claim the exercise has disproportionately affected India’s Muslim population of around 200 million, many of whom are less likely to support the BJP.

Tens of millions of voters have reportedly been flagged for deletion over discrepancies in their records. Some people listed as deceased have challenged their removal by providing proof that they are alive.

However, millions of people who have appealed against their exclusion remain caught in lengthy adjudication proceedings. Some were reportedly unable to vote in closely contested elections earlier this year.

The revision has also imposed financial and logistical burdens on migrant workers, many of whom travelled hundreds of miles to their home villages to submit documents and protect their voting rights.

“We live hand to mouth and most of our savings were spent on travelling to our villages to prevent our disenfranchisement. Everyone was not lucky,” Ruksana Aamir, a resident of Atharobanki village in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, told The Telegraph.

Aamir said she travelled twice from Mumbai with her family after discovering that their names were missing from the electoral rolls following the revision. Her uncle’s family of four was also unable to vote because their names had been deleted, she added.

India’s Supreme Court has issued notices to the Modi government, the Election Commission and Kumar over a petition alleging that the chief election commissioner made key decisions without the approval of other commission members.

The court said it expected the respondents to provide a “clear, transparent” response.

The controversy has intensified concerns over electoral integrity and the right to vote in the world’s most populous country.

Rohinton Nariman, a former Supreme Court judge, warned of the wider implications, saying, “The heart of our democracy, which is the right to vote, is at great peril.”