New Delhi, Oct 2026 : BJP leader and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda on Wednesday criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over remarks concerning Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the revision of electoral rolls, accusing the Congress leadership of spreading misinformation.
In a post on social media, Nadda asserted that Shah had never described 13.39 crore Indians as “infiltrators”. He said the figure referred to names categorised under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) classifications in the draft electoral rolls, and not to a final list of excluded voters.
According to Nadda, the breakdown comprised 2.80 crore deceased persons, 6.30 crore people who had permanently shifted, 3.01 crore voters marked absent and 1.02 crore duplicate entries. He maintained that these categories had been misrepresented in the political debate surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Union Minister also rejected suggestions that the BJP’s electoral popularity and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political standing were attributable to the SIR exercise. He argued that the revision process came into effect only after the 2024 general elections and, therefore, could not explain the party’s earlier electoral performance.
Citing the Congress’s electoral record, Nadda claimed that the party had been unable to win elections in Gujarat for 31 years, had not produced a chief minister in Tripura for 33 years and had not won in West Bengal for 54 years.
He further referred to the Congress’s electoral setbacks in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, arguing that the party needed to rebuild public confidence rather than rely on criticism of the electoral roll revision process.
Nadda urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the party leadership to focus on regaining voters’ trust. He accused the opposition of using the SIR exercise as a pretext to protect alleged infiltrators and create confusion among the public.
Reaffirming his confidence in the ruling alliance, Nadda said public support remained with Modi, the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He also predicted that the NDA would return to power with a substantial majority in the 2029 general elections, while the Congress would face another national defeat.
“The reality of the public mandate cannot be altered by mere allegations,” Nadda said.
His remarks come amid an ongoing political dispute over electoral roll revisions, voter verification and the classification of entries under the ASDD categories. The controversy has prompted competing claims from the BJP and Congress over the purpose, implementation and political implications of the exercise.
