Akhilesh Yadav questions Election Commission’s impartiality over SIR voter list

A political storm has erupted in Uttar Pradesh over the draft voter list released after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav has questioned the credibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging a deliberate conspiracy to remove the names of voters belonging to the PDA (Backward Classes, Dalits, and Minorities) communities.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said, “This is not SIR, it is NRC. The work that was supposed to be done by the Home Department is being carried out by the Election Commission. The government is increasing votes by 200 at every booth and sending officers to execute it.”

He added, “We will file FIRs at booths where the BJP attempts to create disturbances. All SP booth-level agents (BLAs) have been given a format for filing FIRs. In case of any disturbance, they only need to fill in the names and lodge the complaint at the police station.”

When asked what the party would do if the state police failed to register FIRs, Yadav said, “We also have the option of approaching the court.”

Yadav stated that a large number of voters’ names have been removed under the guise of the Special Intensive Revision, directly impacting the PDA community. He alleged that the entire process is being carried out with the intention of weakening democracy and harming the opposition’s vote bank.

The SP president claimed that the names of millions of voters have been deleted from the lists in several districts despite the voters being alive and residing at the same addresses. He said this situation raises serious questions about the impartiality and transparency of the Election Commission.

He further alleged that even before the draft list was released, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had announced that 40 million votes would be cut. “When no one knew how many votes were being deleted, the Chief Minister told his close associates that 40 million votes would be removed,” Yadav claimed. The former Kannauj MP said that around 300,000 votes have already been cut in the district and that deletions are taking place across multiple assembly constituencies.

Yadav accused the BJP government of misusing administrative machinery for electoral gains and pressuring the Election Commission to manipulate the voter list.

“The discrepancy between the voter lists of the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India is alarming,” he said. “Meerut is a large district where votes have been deleted on a massive scale. Similar deletions have taken place in Lucknow. Lakhs of votes have disappeared from individual assembly constituencies. According to the draft list, there are 12.56 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh, but surprisingly, there are 12.69 crore rural voters in the Panchayat elections.”

He further alleged that district-level handles created by the Election Commission have been outsourced. “They want to keep the opposition confused by deleting millions of votes. They cannot win on issues, so they are already preparing to influence the elections,” he said.

Appealing to party workers, Yadav urged them to remain vigilant at the booth level and raise their voices if the name of any eligible voter has been removed.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has stated that the Special Intensive Revision is a routine process under which the names of deceased persons, relocated voters, and duplicate entries are removed. The Commission has also clarified that voters whose names have been deleted are being given ample opportunity to get them re-added during the claims and objections period.

Referring to the Meerut incident, Yadav said, “BJP members are involved, which is why no action is being taken. Daughters and women are the most unsafe in Uttar Pradesh. Statistics do not lie—the highest number of such incidents are occurring here. SP MP Ramji Lal Suman wanted to visit the area but was not allowed. What is the government trying to hide?”