Lucknow, Oct 21 Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday alleged large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls in Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency, claiming that names of 13,150 voters were changed while their EPIC and serial numbers remained the same.
Later in the evening, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa directed that the Electoral Registration Officer and the VRC operator of Pilibhit be immediately removed from voter-list-related duties and legal action be initiated against them after an inquiry into the matter confirmed irregularities.
Addressing a press conference at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Lucknow, AICC in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that the Election Commission had created a system through which “anyone can be defeated, and anyone can be made to win”.
He claimed that after the final draft of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was published on April 10, 2026, changes were made to voter details between July and September without altering their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and serial numbers.
“A voter sees his name, address, EPIC number and serial number in the final draft and assumes that his vote is secure. But if the name is changed later, he may be told on the polling day that his name is not in the electoral roll despite having an EPIC card and identity proof,” Gautam said.
He claimed that in Pilibhit Sadar, names of 13,150 voters were changed, 884 names were deleted despite the voters continuing to reside there, and 2,600 names were added of people who allegedly did not live in the area.
This, according to him, amounted to manipulation involving 16,554 votes.
Gautam mentioned that Congress workers were preparing booth-wise lists of such cases and claimed that similar irregularities could have occurred in other Assembly constituencies as well.
UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra Mona asserted that the disappearance of names from electoral rolls was a serious issue and expressed concern over voters being denied the right to vote despite possessing voter identity cards.
She said the party would seek legal opinion and launch a campaign against its objections to the SIR process. Mishra also questioned the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his team, alleging that the process amounted to “murder of democracy”.
Congress social media chairperson and national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that voter names were being deleted, added and changed through the Election Commission’s software and technology.
She cited an example in which EPIC number 4G-MCM-4746 was shown against Mohammad Yusuf, a 35-year-old man, in the draft roll, but later appeared against Hasrat, son of Ramzan Ali, also aged 35.
The EPIC number, age and gender remained unchanged while the voter’s and father’s names were altered, she claimed.
Shrinate said 13,150 such cases had been detected and alleged that the changes appeared to have been made in batches, raising questions about possible software-based manipulation.
“If the same EPIC number is assigned to another person, the original voter may face an identity mismatch at the time of voting and be denied the right to vote,” she said, demanding an inquiry into how the changes occurred and who was responsible.
She urged the Supreme Court to reject the SIR process and asked voters to check their names and details on the Election Commission’s website using their EPIC numbers.
Shrinate also claimed that a large number of names were deleted in Uttar Pradesh after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She said the state had around 15.41 crore voters in 2024 and should have added about 1.26 crore voters by 2027 based on an annual net increase of around 35 lakh, but instead around 2.04 crore names had been deleted.
Congress state working president and MP Imran Masood appealed to citizens to remain vigilant and verify their names and other details in the electoral rolls.
He emphasised that protecting democracy was the responsibility of every citizen and praised party workers in Pilibhit for detecting the alleged discrepancies.
Masood said the party would also approach the court.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa ordered an inquiry after receiving a complaint that while entering voters’ EPIC numbers from the electoral roll of the Pilibhit constituency on the online portal, details of a different voter were being displayed. The inquiry report confirmed such irregularities.
According to a statement issued by the state election office, the CEO directed that the errors be rectified immediately and that the ERO and VRC operator of Pilibhit be removed from voter-list-related duties with immediate effect. He also directed that legal action be initiated against them under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The statement said a clear report had also been sought on the responsibilities of the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
According to the statement, the District Election Officer of Pilibhit has been directed to conduct a thorough examination of the electoral rolls in all Assembly constituencies in the district and submit a detailed report within two days.
It added that all District Election Officers across Uttar Pradesh have been instructed to check the electoral rolls in every Assembly constituency in their respective districts for similar irregularities and submit their reports within two days.
(PTI News)
