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Former CEC Quraishi warns EC is eliminating millions of voters
Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has expressed deep concern over the large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls, saying the Election Commission is now "removing millions of voters" instead of…
Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has expressed deep concern over the large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls, saying the Election Commission is now "removing millions of voters" instead of adding them. Speaking at the launch of his book 'India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir' in Mumbai on August 20, 2026, Quraishi said the institution built its credibility over years but could lose it in minutes, comparing it to a building demolished in seconds.
Quraishi said the EC was originally tasked with bringing people into the electoral process but is now seen as discarding or eliminating voters. He warned that the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner plays a crucial role in maintaining integrity. "If a person sitting on top is good, he can achieve a lot. And if he is bad, you see what can happen," he said.
Quraishi strongly defended Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), rejecting calls to return to ballot papers. He cited past booth capturing by goons as the reason for moving to EVMs and pointed to the Chandigarh mayoral election where only 40 ballot papers were involved yet cheating occurred. He also noted that Election Commissioners have no separate oath-taking ceremony.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Quraishi's warning comes amid a steady decline in the electorate-to-population ratio, with many states seeing lakhs of names purged in summary revisions before elections. Unlike addition of new voters, deletion processes are often opaque and rarely audited. The EC's credibility matters because it alone decides election schedules and model code enforcement. The next test will be how the EC handles the upcoming state assembly polls, where opposition parties are likely to demand a halt to deletions and a transparent roll review. Watch for the number of electors in the final rolls compared to Census projections.
Quraishi's comments are significant because he is a former head of the EC and speaks from institutional experience. His defence of EVMs is also notable given ongoing opposition demands for a return to paper ballots. The lack of an oath for election commissioners remains an unresolved constitutional anomaly.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
