Voter List Controversy Deepens in Uttar Pradesh as Akhilesh Yadav Alleges Targeted Deletions
The political temperature in Uttar Pradesh rose sharply on Tuesday after Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party, accused the Election Commission of India of working in tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party to allegedly remove the names of nearly one crore Muslim and PDA (Backward Classes, Dalits, and Minorities) voters from electoral rolls.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav claimed that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists was being misused to systematically delete voters belonging to communities traditionally opposed to the BJP.
“Voting is the foundation of democracy. Any tampering with this right is an attack on the Constitution,” Yadav said. “Through Form-7, a conspiracy is being carried out to erase PDA voters from the rolls.”
Allegations of Administrative Pressure
The SP chief further alleged that a senior IAS officer posted in the Chief Minister’s Office was pressuring divisional commissioners and district magistrates to facilitate these deletions.
He said he would disclose the officer’s name at a later stage.
Drawing parallels with developments in West Bengal, Yadav said similar complaints were being raised by Mamata Banerjee.
He claimed the alleged deletions were being carried out mainly in constituencies where the BJP had suffered defeats in the 2022 Assembly elections.
As an example, Yadav said nearly 1,200 Muslim voters were removed from just one polling booth in his Lok Sabha constituency, Kannauj.
Call for Judicial Probe
Terming the situation as “do or die for democracy,” Yadav demanded that all Form-7 applications submitted during the SIR process be scrapped and a judicial inquiry be ordered to examine the authenticity of signatures.
“Having your name on the voter list is proof of citizenship. Removing it in a targeted way is nothing less than political fraud,” he asserted.
He also made it clear that his party would approach the courts to challenge the alleged irregularities.
BJP Pushes Back
Responding to the allegations, Union Minister and BJP’s Uttar Pradesh president Pankaj Chaudhary dismissed Yadav’s claims, saying the revision process was entirely under the Election Commission’s authority.
He pointed out that Yadav had earlier welcomed reports about the deletion of nearly 2.88 crore names from draft electoral rolls, claiming that many BJP voters were removed.
“This is notthe BJP’s exercise. If he has objections, he should raise them with the Election Commission,” Chaudhary said.
Election Commission Issues Clarification
State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa acknowledged reports suggesting misuse of Form-7 submissions.
He said all district election officers and electoral registration officers have now been directed to strictly verify that every Form-7 is personally submitted by the voter whose signature appears on it.
“This will ensure no fraudulent deletions take place,” Rinwa added.
