Akhilesh Yadav's charge on voter deletions rebutted by UP district officials

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) After Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Election Commission of mishandling voter affidavits and raised doubts over the credibility of “Digital India,” district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh have issued clarifications rejecting his allegations.

On August 17, Yadav posted on X that the Election Commission (EC) was claiming it had not received affidavits submitted by the SP on wrongful deletions of voters’ names.

“The EC should check the receipts issued by their own office as proof of receipt of our affidavits. This time, we demand that the Election Commission provide an affidavit stating that the digital receipts sent to us is authentic, otherwise, not only the Election Commission but also Digital India will come under suspicion, he wrote, adding, “If BJP goes, truth will prevail.”

Countering him, the Barabanki District Magistrate clarified on August 19 that the two affidavits received regarding alleged wrongful deletions in Assembly constituency 266-Kursi were examined.

“Affidavits from 2 voters of the 266-Kursi Assembly constituency in Barabanki district were received regarding the erroneous deletion of their names from the voter list. The investigation found that the names of both the aforementioned voters are registered in the voter list,” the Barabanki DM said on X.

Similarly, the Jaunpur DM responded to complaints about five voters from Assembly constituency 366-Jaunpur, whose names were allegedly struck off wrongly.

“A complaint was received via email regarding the erroneous deletion of the names of five voters under the Jaunpur Assembly Constituency 366 in Jaunpur district. All five mentioned voters had passed away before the year 2022. This was confirmed by the family members of the deceased voters, local residents, and the local councillor. The names of the deceased have been duly removed as per the rules. Therefore, the aforementioned complaint is completely baseless and misleading,” said Jaunpur DM on X.

In Kasganj, affidavits concerning eight voters from Assembly constituency 101-Amampur were investigated. According to the district authorities, seven of the names were found to be duplicate entries.

“A complaint was received via email regarding the incorrect deletion of the names of 8 voters under the 101 Amanpur Assembly Constituency of Kasganj District. The investigation revealed that the names of 7 voters were listed twice in the voter list, and one name was deleted as per the rules,” Kasganj DM said on X.

He further added that, “The names of these 7 voters are still present in the voter list today. Due to the death of one voter, their wife had filled out Form 7, based on which the deceased's name was removed.”

The rebuttals underline the Election Commission’s position that deletions are carried out strictly as per procedure.

However, the political row signals that voter list management may become a flashpoint in the run-up to elections, with opposition parties set to challenge the EC’s transparency.

--IANS

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