Yadav alleged that voter names from backward communities such as Maurya, Pal, Bhagel, and Rathore were deliberately struck off to benefit the BJP.
He claimed SP lost several constituencies by narrow margins due to deletions and accused the EC of ignoring proper voter ID procedures.
Demanding strict action, Yadav said not a single officer has been punished since BJP came to power in UP, and warned against caste-based appointments of poll officials.
Akhilesh Yadav Accuses EC Of Deleting Names Of Backward Community
Akhilesh Yadav accuses Election Commission of aiding BJP by deleting backward caste voters, demands action against officials.
Summary
Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, claimed on Monday that the Election Commission had deleted the names of voters from backwards communities to support the BJP.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament complex, Yadav claimed that the BJP was benefiting from the removal of voters' names from the records who belonged to several disadvantaged communities, including the Maurya, Pal, Bhagel, and Rathore clans.
According to PTI, “The truth is their votes are being deleted. The SP raised this issue earlier also, but it is important to understand that this is done deliberately to cut the votes of backwards classes, while projecting that these votes are going elsewhere,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Yadav claimed his party had identified constituencies where they lost by a narrow margin and where voter deletions played a role.
“This is what we could identify in a short time. If we receive the voter lists in the format we want, we can provide more such cases. Votes cast in 2019 were deleted by 2022. There is also a proper procedure for creating a voter ID, but that is being ignored,” he charged.
Strict punishment against negligent authorities was sought by the former chief minister.
“Our demand is simple that suspend even one district officer who is responsible. If you do this, not a single vote will be cut anywhere in the country. Show us if in 2019, 2022 or 2024, even one officer was removed for such lapses. Since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, not a single officer has been punished, no matter how many complaints are filed. Why is that? It means the EC listens more to the BJP,” Yadav charged.
Additionally, he mentioned a scenario in which he said that a BJP lawmaker had produced 400 bogus votes at her booth, requiring the removal of more than 200 of them.
“This kind of verification is being done by political parties, but why doesn't the EC conduct such an exercise?” he said.
Criticising the way officials are appointed during elections, Yadav objected to alleged caste-based selections.
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“Our demand is very clear that don’t appoint Booth Level Officers (BLOs) based on caste, don’t appoint presiding officers on caste basis. It appears as if the ruling party decides which official suits them best,” he said.
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