Include All Genuine Voters, Akhilesh Yadav Raises Questions Over UP SIR Draft Voter List

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has raised serious concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft voter list in the state, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of attempting to manipulate the electoral process by removing genuine voters.

Addressing the issue, Akhilesh Yadav said his apprehensions appeared to be coming true ever since the draft voter list was released. He claimed that initially there were fears that nearly three crore voters could be deleted from the rolls. Without naming anyone directly, he pointed out that even the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had publicly mentioned, much earlier, that around four crore votes would be cut.

Questions Raised Over CM’s Statement

Akhilesh questioned how such figures could be declared even before the completion of the voter list revision process. “When the voter list had not even been prepared and no one knew how many names would be deleted, how did the Chief Minister arrive at a figure of four crore voters?” he asked, adding that the statement was on record and widely heard.

He said this raised serious doubts about the fairness and neutrality of the entire exercise. “If the numbers were already decided, how can the process be called impartial?” he asked.

Legal Challenge at District Level

The SP chief announced that his party would challenge the draft voter list at the district level. He said a standard format would be provided, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and PDA sentinels would be asked to file cases wherever irregularities were found. He also questioned the discrepancies between the voter lists prepared by the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India.

Allegations Against Election Commission

Launching a sharp attack on the Election Commission, Akhilesh Yadav said it had become difficult to understand whose instructions were being followed while preparing the voter list. He alleged that the exercise was aimed at selectively deleting votes of certain communities while increasing votes in favour of the ruling party.

Referring to reports published in a leading newspaper about alleged government directives, he said such revelations had only deepened public suspicion.

Large-Scale Deletions Alleged

Citing examples, Akhilesh claimed that in districts like Meerut, a large number of voters had been removed from the rolls. He alleged that thousands, and in some cases lakhs, of voters had gone missing from the voter list in Lucknow as well.

“These are numbers no one could have imagined—entire assemblies seeing lakhs of voters deleted in phases, each time with a new excuse,” he said.

Issue of BLO Deaths Raised

The SP president also raised concerns over the deaths of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the SIR process. He said the party had provided financial assistance of ₹2 lakh each to the families of BLOs who lost their lives during the revision exercise. According to him, the process was so poorly managed and pressure-driven that it had a severe impact on employees involved.

Demand for Transparent and Fair Process

Akhilesh Yadav demanded a transparent and unbiased voter list revision process, stating that the people of Uttar Pradesh expected fairness from constitutional institutions. He alleged that votes were being added and deleted at the behest of the BJP, which, he said, was eroding public trust.

References to Past Elections

He also reiterated his demand to link voter lists with Aadhaar and recalled alleged irregularities during past by-elections. Referring to incidents in Rampur, Kundarki, and Ayodhya, Akhilesh claimed that voters were prevented from voting, officials acted with bias, and every possible tactic was used to influence election outcomes.

“The Election Commission is not being questioned for the first time,” he said, adding that repeated incidents had cast a shadow over the credibility of the electoral process.