If Congress Wins, Democracy Is Fine; If It Loses, Election Commission Is Blamed — Congress Must Stop Creating Confusion over SIR: Sharma
Shimla: BJP Himachal Pradesh In-charge $ launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its protest against the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying the party must first explain its “double standards” on electoral outcomes.
Sharma said that Congress leaders are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar while protesting against the SIR process. He said Congress has every democratic right to raise questions and place evidence before the Election Commission, but attacking a constitutional institution merely because election results are politically inconvenient raises serious questions about the party’s approach.
He said, “Congress appears to have adopted a simple formula—if it wins, it calls the result a mandate of the people; if it loses, it blames the Election Commission.”
Sharma asked that if Congress believes an election defeat justifies demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, then should the same principle not apply to Himachal Pradesh, where Congress is in power but has suffered electoral setbacks?
He cited the 2026 Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation elections. Despite Congress being in power in the state, the BJP secured control of three of the four Municipal Corporations—Mandi, Dharamshala and Solan—while Congress retained Palampur. In the 63 wards that went to polls, BJP won 37, Congress 23 and Independents three.
Sharma said, “Rahul Gandhi should answer: the government in Himachal is yours, the Chief Minister is yours and the administration functions under your government. Then why did Congress lose three out of four Municipal Corporations? If resignation after an electoral setback is the principle Congress wants to establish, will it apply the same principle to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu?”
He further said Congress has repeatedly raised questions about EVMs, but its argument does not explain defeats in elections conducted through ballot papers.
Referring to the Himachal Pradesh Zila Parishad elections, Sharma said BJP-backed candidates also performed strongly in elections conducted through ballot papers. He said this raises a straightforward political question for Congress: “When Congress loses through EVMs, it questions EVMs. When it loses through ballot papers, whom will it blame?”
He said, “Congress lost in Municipal Corporation elections conducted through EVMs and faced setbacks in Zila Parishad elections conducted through ballot papers. Is the problem with the EVM, the ballot paper, the Election Commission—or does Congress need to examine its own policies and public support?”
On SIR, Sharma said the stated purpose of electoral-roll revision is to verify and update voter lists. He added that if Congress has evidence that any eligible voter has been wrongly excluded, it should place specific cases and evidence before the Election Commission and pursue the remedies available under election law.
He said that political parties are entitled to scrutinise the SIR process and raise genuine concerns, but those concerns should be supported by facts rather than being used to undermine public confidence in constitutional institutions.
Sharma also questioned Congress’s consistency on the Election Commission. He said Congress won the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly election under the electoral system it now criticises, and formed the government in the state.
“Was the Election Commission impartial when Congress won Himachal in 2022, but suddenly biased when Congress lost subsequent elections? Congress cannot have one standard for elections it wins and another for elections it loses,” Sharma said.
He added that election results ultimately reflect voters’ choices and political parties must respect both victories and defeats.
Sharma said, “The message of the people is clear. Congress should answer the public instead of searching for excuses. It must introspect over its electoral setbacks rather than making the Election Commission a convenient target.”
He concluded, “In a democracy, every political party has the right to question institutions and demand transparency, but allegations must be backed by evidence. Congress cannot treat an election result as a celebration of democracy when it wins and as a failure of institutions when it loses. The people’s mandate must be respected in both situations.”
