UP Congress forms committee in each district for scrutiny of deleted names in draft electoral roll

Lucknow, Jan 2 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Congress has formed a committee of senior party leaders in each district for the scrutiny of the draft electoral roll scheduled to be published on January 6.

Provisional data suggest that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls could lead to the deletion of nearly 2.89 crore names, or 18.70 per cent of the electorate, from the pre-SIR voter list.

According to the Congress, the committees will physically verify the deleted names and ensure that no legitimate voter is removed and no fraudulent names are added to the final list.

“Following the instructions of Congress in charge for Uttar Pradesh, Avinash Pande, and with the approval of state Congress president Ajay Rai, a committee of senior leaders has been formed in each district to monitor the names deleted in the SIR exercise.

"The committees will physically verify the deleted names and ensure that no legitimate voter is removed and no fraudulent names are added,” the party said in a statement.

The Constitution has given the common man the most powerful weapon – the right to vote, the statement quoted Ajay Rai as saying.

“Recently, our leader Rahul Gandhi proved with data that vote theft occurred in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana due to the unholy alliance between the BJP and the Election Commission.

“Given this situation, every Congress worker in Uttar Pradesh must help protect the votes of the poor, SCs, backward classes and minorities, because the BJP knows that these groups are largely not their voters and are suffering from its anti-poor policies,” Rai said.

On December 30, the Election Commission revised the schedule for the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh. The draft voter list will now be published on January 6, and the final list on March 6, the state's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said.

According to the new schedule, claims and objections will be invited from January 6 to February 6.

Rinwa said the notice stage, disposal of claims and objections, and decisions on enumeration forms will continue from January 6 to February 27, after which the final electoral roll will be published on March 6.

The revision of the schedule followed heightened scrutiny of the SIR exercise in the state, where, according to sources, a large-scale pruning of the voter list has been carried out.

The SIR exercise began on November 4 and concluded on December 26 after two extensions.

According to official figures, the draft electoral roll is expected to contain around 12.55 crore voters, with about 2.89 crore names deleted from the pre-SIR list for reasons such as death, change of residence or duplication due to enrolment elsewhere.

Those excluded will be able to contest the deletion during the claims and objections period.

The deletion of names has triggered a political controversy in Uttar Pradesh, with the opposition alleging bias, and the ruling BJP refuting the charge. PTI NAV ARI