Congress says EC Form 6 clarification fails to fix voter revision flaws

Congress challenged the Election Commission's clarification allowing previously enrolled voters to submit Form 6. The party said the process risks exclusion and renewed its demand to stop the revision.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Nov 3, 2026 22:00 ISTThe Congress on Tuesday criticised the Election Commission's latest clarification on Form 6, saying it failed to address concerns over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The party alleged that the revision process was designed to exclude voters and said it should be stopped. The criticism came after the Election Commission said previously enrolled voters whose names were missing from draft rolls could submit Form 6 for inclusion.Concerns had been raised that such voters could face legal action because Form 6 requires applicants to declare that they are seeking inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time.In a post on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The ECI's latest 'clarification' on Form 6 is another set of word games that clarify nothing. Each damage control attempt shows how badly designed the SIR process is." Ramesh said the declaration in Form 6 clearly asks whether a person is "applying for inclusion for the first time"."The ECI's clarification: voters applying for re-inclusion during SIR can also be considered first-time. This is another deceptive word game to cover up a flawed process asking voters to make a false declaration," he said. Ramesh alleged that after asking voters to sign a false declaration, the Election Commission was now protecting them from legal consequences. He said this showed how poorly the revision process had been planned."The Maharashtra CEO wrote to the ECI arguing that Form 6 cannot be used in this way. There is an ongoing case on the issue, where the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has interrogated the logic given by the ECI which leaves out absent and shifted voters," he said.Ramesh said the Election Commission could not address what he described as the central problem that the revision exercise was "designed for exclusion"."It deletes voters first, and then asks them to apply for re-inclusion as new voters. No amount of damage control can fix this flawed process. SIR needs to be stopped," he said.In a letter to all state chief electoral officers, the Election Commission said it had been informed that some people whose names were missing from draft electoral rolls published during the ongoing revision were hesitant to submit Form 6.The commission said these voters were concerned because the form requires them to declare that their names are being included in the electoral rolls for the first time."Therefore, such electors believe that submission of Form 6, in view of their previous enrolment, would amount to making a false declaration and render them liable for prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950," the commission said, according to PTI.The Election Commission clarified that voters missing from the draft rolls could submit Form 6 for fresh inclusion in the final voters' list even if they had been enrolled earlier. It said submitting the form after a name had been deleted from a draft roll would not, by itself, amount to a false declaration.The Congress, however, maintained that the clarification did not resolve its concerns over asking previously enrolled voters to seek inclusion again and reiterated its demand that the revision process be stopped.- Ends