Full Breakdown
Goa Election Roll Controversy: 97 Voters Omitted Amid Software Dispute
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event – Omission of 97 Voters from Goa’s Final Electoral Roll
During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for the 2026 state assembly election, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Goa identified 97 electors whose earlier deletions were deemed “logical discrepancies.” After hearing the voters and reviewing documents, the officers concluded the electors were eligible. The Goa Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) repeatedly requested a software-enabled rollback before the final roll’s publication on February 21, but the option was not activated and the 97 names were absent. The CEO’s office later reported that many have now been enrolled through house-to-house visits, while the remaining cases are still being processed.
Background & Context
A Supreme Court bench ordered on January 29 that voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” be displayed publicly and given ten days to submit documents. Goa complied, receiving 649 responses and confirming eligibility for 97 of them.
Two Election Commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—recorded objections to the Election Commission’s centralisation of the ECINet database and changes to Form 6, warning that restricting ERO access could undermine the safeguard that EROs, not a single Delhi office, control the roll.
Timeline
- January 22: Field requests for a rollback began.
- January 29: Supreme Court order on discrepancy handling.
- January 31: EC issued a letter to implement the order.
- February 11-17: Goa CEO sent eight emails to Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, copying DG IT Seema Khanna, seeking rollback permission.
- February 13-16: No response recorded.
- February 17: Final reminder before roll publication.
- February 21: Final electoral roll published without the 97 names.
- September 20: All 97 remained missing.
- September 24, 2026: Congress leaders criticised the EC; BJP spokesperson denied allegations; Goa CEO announced many have now been enrolled.
Data & Statistics
- 97 voters were flagged and later deemed eligible.
- 65 of them are from the Taleigao constituency.
- The rest are spread across St Cruz, Cumbarjua, Priol, Margao, Benaulim and Velim.
- Congress claims the ECINet “phase 3” has deleted or flagged 54 % of Delhi voters and nearly 12 crore voters nationwide—a figure presented as an allegation by Jairam Ramesh.
Criticism & Opposition
- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called the episode “extremely serious” and said it deprives citizens of constitutional rights.
- Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of “political chicanery” and demanded his resignation.
- Former Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Khera highlighted the lack of response from DG IT Seema Khanna and warned that a single Delhi official now controls voter restoration.
- BJP Jharkhand spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo rejected the allegations as a “nationwide smear campaign.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- The EC maintains that ECINet lacks any rollback function, yet the Goa CEO reports many of the 97 have been enrolled through house-to-house processing, implying a de-facto reversal.
- Congress leaders assert that the software centralisation has “annihilated” the constitutional safeguard of ERO autonomy, while the EC says the database remains decentralised and EROs retain statutory powers.
- The claim that the software change affected 54 % of Delhi voters and 12 crore voters nationwide is unverified, contrasting with the EC’s statement that Form 6 itself remains unchanged.
What’s Next
No hearings or deadlines have been announced regarding the rollback issue. The EC’s position is that the existing system complies with law, and the Goa CEO’s office continues to process the remaining cases individually.