Archive · 7 Oct 2026
SIR Controversy Leaves Young Indian Voters Divided on Trust
India is checking and updating its lists of people who can vote.
This process is called SIR.
Some young people worry that eligible voters could be wrongly removed, so they trust elections less.
Others say the list needs to be cleaned of people who have died or moved, and they still trust the voting process.
Some young voters say they already had doubts before this issue began.
The article also says two Election Commissioners raised concerns about decisions they said were made without their approval.
The debate has left young voters with different opinions about how fair elections are.
Young voters expressed differing views on whether the Special Intensive Revision has weakened their confidence in Indian elections.
Some voters said controversy over SIR and the Chief Election Commissioner has increased doubts about fairness and protecting eligible votes.
Other young voters said they still trust elections and argued SIR is intended to remove dead, duplicate, migrated, or fake voters.
One voter said doubts about elections predated the current controversy, while another described the SIR process as confusing.
The article also reported that two Election Commissioners emailed concerns 14 times in 10 months about decisions made without their approval.
- Who
- Young voters in India, including Gen Z voters, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
- What
- Young voters expressed divided views about whether the SIR controversy has affected their trust in elections.
- When
- The article reports on the current SIR and Chief Election Commissioner controversy; it says the commissioners sent emails 14 times in 10 months.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- Some voters worry about the fairness of the process and the possible removal of eligible voters, while others say SIR is intended to remove invalid entries.
Trust weakened or questioned
Trust remains intact
Effect of the SIR controversy
Trust weakened or questioned
Some young voters said the controversy made them doubt whether elections are fair and whether every eligible vote will be protected.
Trust remains intact
Other young voters said their trust in elections remains strong and that the controversy is not enough to undermine their confidence.
Removal of voters from rolls
Trust weakened or questioned
Some voters expressed concern that valid voters are being removed and said this is not right.
Trust remains intact
Pratik Agarwal said SIR is meant to remove dead, duplicate, migrated, or fake voters and ensure valid citizens can vote.
- Issue
- Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
- Voter views
- Some young voters say the controversy has weakened their trust; others say their confidence remains intact.
- Stated purpose of SIR
- Pratik Agarwal said it was introduced to remove dead, duplicate, migrated, or fake voters from the list.
- Commissioners named
- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi
- Reported emails
- The Indian Express investigation said the two commissioners wrote emails 14 times in 10 months about decisions made without their approval.
- Issues mentioned in emails
- Centralisation of the ECINET portal, changes in Form 6, and other issues
- Voters quoted
- The article quotes young voters aged 19, 21, 22, and 23.