LUCKNOW The electoral roll published after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttar Pradesh has come under its first major scrutiny, with allegations of altered voter details and duplicate entries prompting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to order a statewide examination of voter lists.
The immediate trigger is a Congress complaint alleging irregularities affecting 13,150 voter entries in Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency, where the party claimed voters’ names were changed while their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers and serial numbers remained unchanged. The commission has directed district election officers (DEOs) across UP to examine the matter and check voter lists in all assembly constituencies in their respective districts, with reports to be submitted to the chief electoral officer’s office within two days. The controversy comes months after the SIR led to a substantial reduction in the state’s electoral roll, intensifying opposition concerns over deletions and discrepancies.The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress have repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the revised lists, while the BJP has defended the exercise as necessary to eliminate duplicate entries and ensure clean electoral rolls.
The draft roll published on January 6 had flagged 2.89 crore voters as uncollectible. These included 1.29 crore who had permanently shifted, 46 lakh deceased voters, 25.4 lakh duplicate entries and 79.5 lakh voters who could not be traced, according to Election Commission data.
Congress leader Rajendra Pal Gautam, in-charge of the UP Congress Committee, alleged at a press conference on Wednesday that 13,150 voter names had been altered in Pilibhit Sadar. He further claimed that 884 voters had been removed despite continuing to reside in the constituency and submitting applications confirming their residence, while another 2,600 names had been added despite the individuals concerned allegedly not living there. Together, he said, the discrepancies affected over 16,554 voter entries.
In Pilibhit, the ECI has already removed two election officials — an electoral registration officer (ERO) and a voter registration centre (VRC) operator — following a preliminary inquiry by the district election officer. Legal action has also been ordered against them. Srivastava claimed the party had lodged complaints concerning more than three lakh suspected duplicate voters across the state.
Further action will follow if the ongoing investigation establishes irregularities, officials said. The SP said it had raised the Pilibhit issue before the Congress and had submitted a memorandum to the chief electoral officer. Party state secretary KK Srivastava said one of the discrepancies flagged by the SP involved an EPIC number displaying the details of another voter. It had also flagged anomalies involving prefixes and suffixes in voters’ names, he said, adding that numerous complaints and memorandums had been submitted to the ECI. BJP state spokesperson Dinesh Pratap Singh said a case had been registered in connection with the alteration of voter names in Pilibhit and that the Election Commission was taking appropriate action. The BJP supports the SIR as a necessary exercise to eliminate duplicate entries and ensure accuracy in the electoral roll, he said.
The district-level reports are expected on Friday.
