LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, accusing the BJP of "hiding behind institutions" when it faces electoral challenges.
Yadav's remarks came during an interaction with reporters in Lucknow shortly after the final voter list was announced by the state election authorities.
"Going by the voter list that has come out now, one can assume that when the BJP starts losing on issues, it fights elections by hiding behind institutions," Yadav said.
He alleged that institutions such as the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Income Tax Department have already been "exposed", and now the BJP is contesting elections "in collusion with the Election Commission".
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also claimed that the bypolls in the state witnessed "loot and dacoity", adding that even stronger words could be used to describe the situation.
Yadav further alleged discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, claiming that voter deletions were carried out using forged documents.
Citing an example, he said a voter named Nandlal had his name removed from the electoral roll using "fake signatures", although he was unable to write.
"BJP workers forged his signature and the Election Commission is not taking any action.
If no action is being taken, it shows the Election Commission is with them," he alleged.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the SIR exercise was conducted from October 27, 2025, to April 10, 2026, covering all 75 districts and 403 Assembly constituencies, culminating in the publication of the final electoral roll.
He said the final list showed an increase of over 84 lakh voters from the draft list released on Jan 6, taking the total electorate to 13.39 crore.
In a press statement released later, Yadav further claimed that religious figures like Shankaracharya were being disrespected and even threatened, stressing that ensuring their security is the government's responsibility.
He further criticised the handling of women's reservation, questioning the delay in its implementation until the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, as well as the use of "outdated 2011 Census data" for the policy.
He said this reflected an attempt to mislead women voters.
Additionally, Samajwadi Party state president Shyam Lal Pal submitted a memorandum to the chief electoral officer, demanding detailed, constituency- and booth-wise data on voter list changes, including deletions due to death, shifting, duplication, and other "logical errors" or "no-mapping" issues.
It also asked for details of the names added through Form 6 and corrections made using Form 8.
The party alleged a pattern wherein votes from booths where BJP performs poorly are selectively removed, reiterating its charge that the Election Commission of India is acting under political influence.
