Congress Accuses Modi Government of Blocking Gen Z Voters

The Indian National Congress has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India of deliberately stalling the registration of first-time voters to suppress the political consciousness of Generation Z. The party alleges that the government has frozen Special Summary Revisions since 2024, effectively excluding approximately 13.8 crore voters from the electoral rolls.

During a press conference in Delhi on September 26, 2026, Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak Basoya claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar disrupted statutory processes to facilitate what the party calls vote theft. The opposition further challenged a July update to Form 6A requiring ancestral registration details, arguing the change is illegal and exceeds the Commission's authority. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh contrasted these actions with those of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who lowered the voting age to 18 in 1988.

The controversy follows reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected 14 times over 10 months to decisions made without their knowledge, including database control and registration form amendments. The Congress party has demanded the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and stated that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be held accountable. The Election Commission of India has defended its processes, stating that differing views are normal and all orders follow statutory procedures.