Ludhiana: Congress alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls

Congress leader has demanded an immediate judicial probe, claiming that the matter has been placed before the party high command, which has assured large-scale action

Congress leader Ishwarjot Singh Cheema has alleged massive irregularities in the Ludhiana South electoral rolls, alleging that the voter lists have been “manipulated to benefit ruling parties”. His claims follow Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s recent charge in Parliament that the commission was enabling ‘vote chori’ (theft).

Congress leader Ishwarjot Singh Cheema has alleged massive irregularities in the Ludhiana South electoral rolls.

Cheema, who contested the 2022 assembly polls from Ludhiana South,said that at booth number 53, out of 839 registered voters the first 307 are shown under house number 0. Another 36 voters in the same booth also carry the zero house number—despite the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation issuing house and UID numbers for every residence, he said.

“Voter ages are listed in descending sequence — from 85 years to 52 years for voter numbers 1 to 100, from 52 to 42 years for 101 to 200 and from 42 to 21 years for 201 to 300. No mohalla or locality names are mentioned,” he said.

Similar discrepancies were flagged in booth number 55, which has 1,331 registered voters. “The first 100 entries again show house number zero, followed by 49 more under the same number. Even more bizarre, one entry lists the house number as Geeta Devi. Duplicate entries also exist in the list,” Cheema alleged.

The Congress leader demanded an immediate judicial probe. “This is not a clerical error—it is a calculated attempt to distort democracy. Such malpractice cannot be ignored,” he said.

Cheema claimed the matter has been placed before the party high command, which has assured large-scale action. “Democracy will not be strangled by fraud. The next government will be formed by the people’s will, and it will be a Congress government working in the public interest,” Cheema said.

When contacted, a senior official of the district administration, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “We will look into it.”

On Saturday, while addressing the media in Ludhiana echoing the “vote chori” issue raised by Rahul ,Gandhi Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raja Warring had stated that the same was suspected in Punjab by the state government.