The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was supposed to clean up the voters' lists. Instead, mounting evidence suggests that the exercise has itself become deeply compromised. Calling it merely an administrative error would be an injustice to the millions whose right to vote has been placed in jeopardy.

More than 13 crore names were struck off the draft rolls in 30 states and union territories. The Election Commission may have explanations for every deletion, but the sheer scale demands something more than explanations. It demands accountability.

Questions have also been raised about elections held after the SIR exercise, particularly in West Bengal. The credibility of an election depends on the confidence that those entitled to vote were not........

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