Congress flags Bhagat Singh photo in Ludhiana SIR voter roll; EC calls claim misleading

Bhagat Singh’s image in SIR draft roll, says Congress. (Express photo)

The Congress Sunday said that the photograph of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, who was hanged to death by the British in 1931, was put against the name of a voter in the SIR draft rolls of Ludhiana district.

However, denying the claim, the Ludhiana district election office said that the claim was “misleading”, and that the incorrect image was in fact “corrected” during the SIR.

Punjab state electoral office is set to publish the final voter rolls on Monday following the SIR exercise. The draft rolls were published on August 13.

Sanjay Talwar, Ludhiana Congress district president (urban) and former MLA from Ludhiana East, said that “there was a suspected discrepancy in the voter list for Booth No 38 of the East constituency, where the photograph of Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh appears instead of the actual voter’s photograph at serial number 422. Additionally, issues regarding incorrect photographs have come to light at serial numbers 5, 69, 397, 410, 747, 750, 983, and 990.”

He added, “If so many irregularities can be detected during the inspection of just one booth, it is crucial to conduct a thorough scrutiny of the voter list for the entire constituency. Therefore, the voter lists for all 235 booths in Ludhiana and the East constituency should be examined to determine the extent of incorrect photographs or other errors present.”

Referring to the concerns raised by Rahul Gandhi regarding alleged vote theft and irregularities in voter lists, Talwar asserted that such errors cannot be taken lightly. “In a democracy, the vote of every eligible citizen holds significance, and all information recorded in the voter list must be accurate. Such matters require an impartial inquiry to ensure that no questions arise regarding any voter’s rights,” he said.

Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring wrote on X: “This was the only thing left to witness…! A photograph of Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Ji has been affixed in front of a voter’s name in the Ludhiana East voter list. It is being claimed that this photograph is placed opposite serial number 422 at booth number 38. Previously, cases of irregularities regarding photographs had also surfaced in Haryana’s voter list. Now, this claimed lapse in Punjab raises serious questions about the credibility of the electoral process. Election Commission, respond! How are such errors occurring in the voter lists? Who will investigate them, and whose accountability will be fixed? The Election Commission should conduct an impartial investigation into this matter and make the facts public. In a democracy, there should be no compromise on the purity of the voter list and the credibility of the electoral process.”

Story continues below this ad

However, denying the claims made by the Congress, the Ludhiana district election office in an official statement said: “Misleading Claim: A photo of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh appears against voter serial no. 422, Part no. 38, in the Ludhiana East (60) electoral roll. Fact: This claim is Misleading. The wrong photo was in the earlier electoral roll and was carried into the draft roll published on 13-08-2026. It was detected during SIR verification and has already been corrected. The final roll with the correct photo has already been prepared and will be published on 12-10-2026.”