New Delhi: More than 250 women activists, organisations and concerned citizens from across the country have issued a strong statement warning of what they described as a “dangerous and systematic erosion” of free and fair elections in India amid growing scrutiny of the Election Commission of India.
The collective alleged that institutions responsible for safeguarding democracy were increasingly enabling voter exclusion, intimidating political participation and weakening constitutional rights, particularly of women and minority communities.
“We speak not for any single state, party or leader,” the statement said, “but for the very idea of democratic participation that is being steadily hollowed out across the country.”
At the centre of the concerns were allegations of large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls through Special Intensive Revision, SIR, exercises. Referring to the 2026 electoral process in West Bengal, the signatories claimed nearly 91 lakh voters, around 12 percent of the electorate, were removed from electoral rolls. They alleged many deleted voters were long-time voters with valid documents whose appeals were not properly addressed.
The collective also alleged similar patterns in Bihar and Tamil Nadu and described them as “deliberate structural exclusions.”
The statement further raised concern over the “excessive and non-neutral” deployment of central security forces during elections. It alleged voters in parts of West Bengal were beaten and chased away near counting centres while post-poll violence and arson continued unchecked.
“Democracy cannot exist in militarised and controlled zones,” the statement said.
The collective also criticised the judiciary, calling it at times an “ineffective arbiter or silent spectator” in matters requiring urgent constitutional intervention.
By Abdul Bari Masoud
