New Delhi, Nov 16: Reeling from its rout in Bihar and sharpening its “vote chori” charge, the Congress has convened a review meeting on November 18 with in-charges, state unit presidents, CLP leaders and secretaries from 12 states and Union territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is currently underway.
The meeting will take place at Indira Bhawan, a senior party functionary said, a day after the party’s top leadership — including Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge — met to assess the dismal Bihar outcome, where the NDA won 202 seats while the Mahagathbandhan managed just 35. The Congress on Saturday also questioned the Election Commission’s role in the poll process.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, said that more than 95% of the 5.99 crore electors across nine states and three UTs have been served enumeration forms under the ongoing SIR drive. According to the EC’s daily bulletin, over 48.67 crore forms have been distributed across 12 states and UTs — Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal head to the polls in 2026. Assam, which also votes in 2026, will announce its revision schedule separately. Phase-II of the SIR — the enumeration stage — began on November 4 and will continue till December 4.
Rahul Gandhi on Friday termed the Bihar verdict “surprising” and alleged the election was “not fair from the very beginning”. He said the Congress and the INDIA bloc would conduct a detailed review.
The Congress has also alleged that the results signal “vote chori on a gigantic scale — masterminded by the prime minister, the home minister and the EC”. Gandhi’s campaign in Bihar centred on repeated accusations of “vote chori”.
