Akhilesh Yadav Alleges Voter Deletions Under SIR, Accuses BJP of Targeting Opposition Strongholds

By A Staff Reporter

Hyderabad: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday raised serious concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise is being misused to delete voters rather than include eligible citizens.

Speaking in Hyderabad, Yadav said that when the SIR process began in Bihar, it was opposed by all political parties, forcing the opposition to approach the Supreme Court. He asserted that the primary purpose of such an exercise should be to add eligible voters to the rolls, not remove existing ones.

“The SIR exercise should be to add voters, not to delete them,” Yadav said, alleging that a large number of voters were removed from the electoral list in Bihar. He claimed that similar deletions are now planned in Uttar Pradesh, warning that nearly three crore voters could be affected.

The SP chief further alleged that constituencies represented by the Samajwadi Party are being disproportionately targeted. He said that in the constituency from which he was elected, around two lakh voters are likely to be deleted. Referring to Farrukhabad, another SP stronghold, Yadav claimed that about 2 to 2.5 lakh voters there face deletion from the electoral rolls.

Accusing the BJP of manipulating electoral processes, Yadav alleged that voter deletions tend to occur in areas where the ruling party faces defeat. “Wherever the BJP loses, they get voters deleted,” he claimed.

Drawing a parallel with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the SP chief alleged that the SIR exercise is being used as an alternative method to achieve similar objectives. “Those who could not get the NRC done are now getting it done through SIR,” he said.