Widespread irregularities alleged in intensive revision of voter list in UP: Congress

Amid allegations of irregularities in the Intensive Revision of the voter list (SIR) raised by Uttar Pradesh government minister Ravindra Jaiswal himself, the Congress party on Friday accused the process of being marred by serious and widespread irregularities.

A delegation of the Varanasi Metropolitan Congress Committee submitted a detailed memorandum to the ADM (Supply), alleging biased practices and serious lapses during the second phase of the ongoing intensive voter list revision in the City North Assembly constituency (388).

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Metropolitan Congress President Raghavendra Chaubey said that the concerns expressed by state minister Ravindra Jaiswal regarding the final voter list published after the intensive revision conducted at 451 booths in City North constituency expose the wide gap between the BJP’s claims and its actual governance.

“When the BJP government is in power both at the state and the Centre, and the entire administrative machinery is under its control, then the responsibility for any irregularity in the voter list lies squarely with the BJP government and its ministers,” Chaubey said.

He alleged that serious irregularities are continuously surfacing under the guise of SIR. “In several places, names of eligible voters are being deleted; in others, genuine voters are being excluded, while in many areas there is a complete lack of transparency in the revision process,” he added.

Accusing the BJP government of creating confusion to cover up its failures, Chaubey strongly condemned the use of terms such as “vote jihad” by Minister Ravindra Jaiswal, calling it “extremely unfortunate and condemnable.”

“Kashi is not merely a city; it is a living symbol of the Ganga-Jamuni culture. It is the land of Sant Kabir and Nazir, the city of Mother Ganga, and the holy abode of Lord Vishwanath,” he said.

The Congress leader further claimed that, according to reliable sources, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are allegedly deleting voter names under pressure from the ruling party during the second phase of SIR, in violation of established rules.

He expressed serious concern over reports that voter names—particularly in Muslim-majority areas—are being removed on a large scale in the name of revision.

“Names of voters from Muslim localities, as well as from other communities, are being struck off en masse using pre-printed Form-7s, which is completely against democratic norms,” Chaubey alleged.

The Congress party demanded a fair and impartial investigation into the matter and strict action against those found responsible.