Samajwadi Party Chief Accuses BJP of Electoral Roll Manipulation in Uttar Pradesh
In a significant political development in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday leveled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, accusing it of utilizing government officials associated with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to manipulate the voters' list across the state.
Allegations of Bias in Booth-Level Operations
Yadav asserted that the government has engaged booth level officers (BLOs) and other public servants in the SIR process who possess a bent of mind aligned with the BJP's ideology. As a direct consequence, many of these officials are allegedly working to serve the electoral interests of the saffron party, thereby compromising the integrity of the electoral exercise.
"BJP leaders and the chief minister have already announced that they will get 200 votes added at each booth, and what is happening on the ground is not much different," the former chief minister stated emphatically. "The question is, is the BJP getting the SIR done? We were under the impression that the Election Commission of India was conducting the SIR."
Demand for Transparency and Technical Involvement
Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the Election Commission must involve technical teams from political parties to maintain transparency in the use of technology during the SIR. He highlighted that political parties have been systematically kept away from all the technological processes that the ECI is employing in the revision.
"Political parties have been kept away from all the technological processes that the ECI is using in the SIR. The Commission should allow our technical teams to see what is being used on the technology front to ensure transparency," he insisted, underscoring the need for greater oversight.
Contradiction Between EC Claims and Ground Reality
Yadav pointed out that when the Election Commission announced the SIR on November 4, 2025, it claimed that the exercise would "purify" and sanitise the voters' list. "The EC said that with the help of mapping and technology, the voters' list would be free of all contamination and that no voter would be left out," he recalled.
However, he insisted that what is unfolding on the ground is the complete opposite of what the EC had promised, indicating a stark disparity between official statements and actual implementation.
Specific Irregularities Uncovered in Kannauj Sadar
The Samajwadi Party chief revealed that his party had conducted a detailed study of the Kannauj Sadar (198) assembly constituency, uncovering gross irregularities despite having to manually screen every page and record. "Details available with us state that after the first round of SIR, it was revealed that:
- 12,884 voters had died
- Another 30,814 were untraceable or failed to turn up
- 1,287 refused to fill up the forms
- 31,564 voters had permanently shifted"
These findings, according to Yadav, highlight significant discrepancies and raise serious questions about the efficacy and fairness of the SIR process under the current administration.
