Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged irregularities in Uttar Pradesh’s voter lists and urged the Election Commission to link voter identities with Aadhaar and introduce biometric verification at polling stations. He said these measures could help identify cases in which an individual’s name is registered at multiple locations.
Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to hold assembly elections next year, and the voter list has become a subject of political debate ahead of the polls. Speaking in Lucknow on Monday, October 26, Akhilesh questioned the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that his party had found several irregularities while examining electoral rolls.
According to Akhilesh, some names appeared repeatedly in voter lists across different districts and polling stations. He called on the Election Commission to consider technology-based methods to identify and address such entries.
Addressing journalists at the SP office in Lucknow, Akhilesh said technological advances made it possible to detect cases in which the same individual may be registered as a voter at multiple locations.
He proposed linking voter lists with Aadhaar and installing fingerprint-based identification machines at polling stations. He said such equipment was not particularly expensive and could make it easier to identify incorrect entries.
Akhilesh also stressed that the Election Commission must ensure that no eligible voter is removed from the electoral roll during its preparation. At the same time, he said, steps should be taken to prevent an individual's name from being registered at two or more locations.
Akhilesh presented several examples to support his allegations. He claimed that 420 entries matched the details of a 42-year-old woman named Sunita, whose husband's name was given as Rajesh. He also said that more than 2,400 entries under the same name had been found across different districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Referring to another woman named Rajkumari, Akhilesh said searches across different locations had identified 1,627 entries. He also alleged that votes under the name Vikas Yadav were registered at multiple polling stations.
The figures cited by the SP have not been independently verified in the information available. Similar names in electoral rolls do not necessarily establish that the entries belong to the same individual. Verification would require matching additional details, including age, address and other identifying information.
Akhilesh also targeted the BJP over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He alleged that the process was being used to gain an electoral advantage and described the alleged practices as vote-fixing.
He urged the Election Commission to correct errors in the voter lists. According to Akhilesh, the commission had begun examining some cases following repeated complaints from opposition parties. However, he questioned why the alleged irregularities had not been identified earlier.
The SP president also raised the issue of panchayat elections, arguing that village heads were familiar with residents in their respective areas. He said local-level scrutiny could help identify incorrect entries during the verification of voter lists.
The allegations against the BJP are based on Akhilesh's statements. Establishing deliberate manipulation of electoral rolls would require an official investigation and supporting evidence.
Aadhaar linking with voter identification records is already permitted in India, but the process is voluntary. Under the Election Commission's provisions, voters can submit their Aadhaar details through Form 6B.
An eligible voter cannot be removed from the electoral roll solely for not providing an Aadhaar number. Aadhaar serves as proof of identity, not proof of citizenship.
Akhilesh's proposal to make Aadhaar linking mandatory and introduce biometric verification would therefore require consideration of the existing legal framework, data protection and voter convenience.
During the press conference, former IAS officers Ram Bahadur Pasi and Dara Singh Prajapati, along with several other leaders, joined the Samajwadi Party.
Welcoming the new members, Akhilesh said their entry would strengthen the party's PDA politics, referring to its focus on backward classes, Dalits and minorities. He said the party's organisational presence was expanding from eastern Uttar Pradesh to the western part of the state. Referring to Dara Singh Prajapati, he expressed confidence that his joining would benefit the party electorally.
Akhilesh also outlined proposals concerning the welfare of the Valmiki community. He said that if the SP formed the government, large-scale events would be organised in every district to mark Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti.
He also promised to work towards granting ownership rights to members of the Valmiki community in their existing residential colonies.
The current Uttar Pradesh government had already declared a public holiday for Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti on October 26, 2026.
During the event, SP general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav also accused the BJP government of being responsible for inflation, corruption and social division. He said leaders and workers joining the party would receive due respect.
The voter list issue is emerging as a significant subject of political debate ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Voters can check their electoral details and registration status through the Election Commission's official website, voters.eci.gov.in.
