Agartala, July 11, 2025: Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President Asish Kumar Saha on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of functioning as a “pet parrot” of the BJP-led central government and failing to act impartially during recent elections across the country.
Addressing a press conference, Saha said, “Since 2014, people across India—including political parties and civil society—have questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission during assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The way the BJP has used state media, administrative machinery, and even black money to influence elections is alarming.”
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader alleged that large-scale irregularities and manipulation took place. “There are documented discrepancies in at least 79 parliamentary constituencies where the actual vote did not reflect in the results,” Saha claimed. “In states like Maharashtra, nearly 40.8 lakh names were added to the voter list in a suspicious manner. In five years, the voter base increased by just over 70,000, and now suddenly, there’s a surge of over 40 lakh? This defies logic.”
He further alleged that marginalized communities, especially Dalits and minorities, were systematically targeted and disenfranchised. “We have evidence that BJP supporters were listed in multiple constituencies using fake EPIC cards. The ECI, despite repeated representations by the INDIA bloc and the Congress, failed to act,” Saha said.
Quoting the April 2024 survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Saha pointed out that 72 percent of the public no longer consider the Election Commission a trustworthy institution. “The people of India have lost faith in the very body meant to protect their democratic rights,” he remarked.
Reacting to recent developments in Bihar, where a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of the voter list has been initiated, Saha warned of a similar attempt in Tripura. “We have learned that the same method will soon be applied in our state. Under the guise of updating voter rolls, the real aim is to exclude anti-BJP voters. It is a calculated attack on the rights of the poor, the working class, and those who oppose the ruling dispensation.”
He also questioned the rationale behind requiring only birth certificates for the revision exercise. “If Aadhaar, PAN, ration card and driving licenses are not considered valid, how do you expect people—especially migrant workers and the poor—to prove their eligibility to vote?” he asked. “It’s clearly aimed at deleting voters selectively.”
The Congress leader also recalled the ECI’s refusal to release machine-readable digital voter rolls and booth-wise video footage from previous polls, despite requests by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. “What is the ECI trying to hide? Why is it afraid of transparency?” Saha questioned.
Calling the current ECI “compromised and complicit,” he stated, “The Commission has become a tool of the BJP. It no longer acts independently. It refuses to investigate forged voter IDs, ignores evidence of booth rigging, and claims that preserving voting data violates privacy—this is nothing but an excuse to delete all digital trails of electoral fraud.”
Saha urged the grassroots workers of the Congress party to remain alert and proactive. “We are asking every booth-level worker to form strong Booth Level Committees (BLCs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs). We must monitor every stage of the voter list revision and election process. The fight to save democracy begins from the booth.”
In closing, the PCC President said, “This is not just about elections; it is about the future of our democracy. The BJP, desperate to retain power, will go to any extent to manipulate systems, suppress votes, and destroy institutions. We appeal to every democratic citizen—regardless of caste, religion or party—to join this resistance and safeguard the soul of India.”
