Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan on September 25 cited Kerala Home Minister and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala’s remarks following the Kerala Assembly election results, arguing that they contradicted Gandhi’s claim that “wherever there is SIR, there is vote theft”.
Kesavan, in a post on X, said Chennithala had appreciated the SIR process after the Kerala Assembly election results were announced on May 4, 2026, and had credited the process with helping the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) by removing bogus votes from the electoral rolls.
Rahul Gandhi ridiculously claims that wherever there is SIR there is vote theft. On May 4, 2026, when the Kerala Assembly election results were announced, the current Congress Home Minister of Kerala, Mr. Ramesh Chennithala, lauded and appreciated how the SIR process had helped… pic.twitter.com/twaBjwtrDP
— C.R.Kesavan (@crkesavan) September 25, 2026
Referring to Gandhi’s remarks on September 24, Kesavan asked whether the Congress leader would seek Chennithala’s resignation as Kerala Home Minister for having earlier praised the SIR process.
He also asked whether Gandhi believed that the Kerala Assembly election, won by the Congress-led UDF, had been compromised.
Kesavan criticised Gandhi over his attacks on constitutional institutions, alleging that the Congress leader was targeting them to divert public attention from the party’s electoral defeats. He also referred to Gandhi’s earlier reference to a “hydrogen bomb” at a press conference, saying that it had ultimately “fallen flat”.
Kesavan further blamed Gandhi for what he described as the Congress party’s three consecutive Lok Sabha election defeats and losses in nearly 100 Assembly elections. He said Gandhi’s latest press conference was an attempt to find a “scapegoat” for the Congress’s electoral defeats.
Rahul Gandhi, on September 24, alleged that there was “100 per cent” certainty that elections in India, including the 2024 Lok Sabha election and several Assembly elections, had been rigged. He demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raised allegations concerning the electoral process.
The BJP has rejected Gandhi’s allegations. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi described his arguments as recycled, while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma defended the functioning of the Election Commission, saying decisions in the Commission are taken through majority or consensus.
