Akhilesh Yadav Accuses BJP of Manipulating Voter Rolls in Uttar Pradesh

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Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh, which excluded 2.89 crore voters, leaving 12.55 crore retained out of 15.44 crore listed earlier. Speaking in Lucknow, Yadav claimed that BJP leaders knew about the scale of voter removals before the draft list was released, casting doubt on the Election Commission's credibility. Yadav pointed out that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, a BJP leader, had stated that approximately four crore votes would be removed before the draft voter list was released. He also cited a BJP MP's comment that 3 lakh votes had already been removed in one district. Yadav questioned how BJP leaders, a former party MP, and the chief minister could make such statements if the Election Commission is impartial. The final electoral list is scheduled to be published on March 6. Yadav expressed hope that genuine voters would be added to the voter list during the voter registration drive. However, he raised concerns about the data provided by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), questioning how the total number of voters for the Assembly elections in the state is 12.56 crore when the number of rural voters for panchayat elections is 12.69 crore. Yadav also raised doubts about the removal of 2.88 crore voters from the overall draft voter list, pointing out that 40 lakh voters were added by the same BLOs for the panchayat elections. He asked if the final voter list for the Panchayat elections is being delayed to conceal this fact. The Samajwadi Party supremo demanded that voter information be linked to Aadhaar, alleging that the BJP has machines to create fake Aadhaar cards. He claimed that many Samajwadi Party workers have informed him that the BJP brings in such machines to create Aadhaar cards during elections. Yadav urged the country to link voting to Aadhaar, saying it is a new era of data and a crucial step to prevent manipulation and ensure the credibility of the electoral process.