The revised voter list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttar Pradesh has triggered widespread concern, with several voters reporting glaring errors, including duplicate entries and incorrect addresses.
In the Banda district, unusual cases have emerged. Rani Singh, a 33-year-old resident of Aliganj East, found her name listed five times in the final electoral roll, each showing a different house in the same locality.
Similarly, Vinay Kumar from Mardan Naka East was surprised to discover a person named Nusrat Siddiqui listed as living next door, despite having no such neighbour.
In Kanpur Rural district, Anjana Dubey from Akbarpur Raniya said she was shocked to find a stranger, Shekhu Khan, listed at her address.
Allegations of Manipulation by Opposition
Shekhu Khan, associated with the Samajwadi Party’s minority cell, claimed he had repeatedly approached officials to correct the error but received no response.
“We have been saying from the beginning that the SIR is meant to delete names of non-BJP voters,” Khan alleged. “They did not remove my name, but they changed my address to create confusion and take away my voting rights.”
He further claimed that several members of his family also had incorrect details in the final list, calling the entire exercise “chaotic.”
Large-Scale Deletions Raise Alarm
Officials data show that around 1.19 lakh voters have been removed in Banda district alone. Across the state, over 2 crore names — about 13.24% of the electorate before revision — have reportedly been deleted.
Vishwambhar Singh Yadav, MLA from Baberu, alleged that 32,299 voters were removed from his constituency.
“I can say with confidence that they were my voters. I had defeated the BJP candidate by about 7,300 votes in 2022. This is an attempt to snatch the seat,” he said, accusing the government of collusion with the Election Commission.
Akhilesh Yadav Attacks BJP, EC
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the exercise, claiming it was aimed more at deleting voters than adding them.
“The SIR has not cleaned the electoral roll; it has made it chaotic. This kind of confusion benefits the BJP,” he said.
He further alleged that the deletions disproportionately affected “Dalit, OBC and Muslim voters.”
Election Officials Respond
Election authorities have defended the process, saying mechanisms are in place to correct errors.
Assistant District Electoral Officer Kumar Dharmendra said the voter list had been made available at booth-level offices for public scrutiny.
“Anyone who finds discrepancies can file objections with the competent authority,” he said.
Voters have been given 15 days from publication (until April 25) to raise objections with the District Electoral Officer, and 30 days to file a second appeal with the Chief Electoral Officer if needed.
