UP CEO Orders Swift Removal Of Duplicate Voter Entries Ahead Of 2027 Assembly Elections

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa has directed election officials to expedite the removal of duplicate entries from electoral rolls ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, warning that negligence in the exercise will invite strict action. The directive comes amid questions over how multiple voter ID cards can be generated for the same individual and the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) efforts to detect duplicate applications.

According to news agency PTI, Rinwa issued the directions during a virtual meeting with district election officers and electoral registration officers on Monday, reviewing preparations for a special voter registration campaign scheduled for October 24.

Why Is The ECI Targeting Duplicate Voter Entries?

Rinwa directed booth-level officers (BLOs) to identify cases in which the same voter submitted multiple applications during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Such cases must be resolved according to prescribed procedures, including the use of Form 7 to seek deletion of names from electoral rolls, PTI reported.

He also instructed BLO supervisors to monitor the exercise regularly and asked electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) to review progress and ensure that duplicate entries are disposed of in a timely manner.

“Negligence or laxity at any level will not be tolerated, and accountability will be fixed,” Rinwa said, according to an official statement cited by PTI.

The exercise is aimed at ensuring that the draft electoral rolls, scheduled to be published on November 12, are accurate and free of errors ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

Why Are Multiple Voter ID Cards Being Questioned?

The directive comes amid a public exchange on X between the Uttar Pradesh CEO’s office and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair over the generation of multiple voter ID cards.

Zubair flagged a case involving a voter whose name was allegedly missing from the draft electoral roll despite having submitted multiple applications and received more than one voter ID card.

The CEO’s office disputed Zubair’s account but acknowledged that multiple Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) can be generated when an individual submits multiple forms. It said deduplication was being carried out periodically through the ECINET platform, with efforts under way to detect repeated applications at the submission stage itself.

“We are on the path to achieving the objective of catching multiple forms submitted by an individual at the submission stage only,” the CEO’s office said on X, adding that it expected to achieve this soon.

Meanwhile, the ECI has organised special voter registration camps across all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh on October 17 and 24 to enrol eligible citizens whose names are missing from electoral rolls, particularly first-time voters, PTI reported.

Rinwa asked officials to coordinate with government departments, voluntary organisations, booth-level agents, municipal councillors and village heads to ensure the success of the October 24 campaign. He also directed officials to train BLOs on updates and procedural changes in ERO-Net to ensure electoral roll-related work follows prescribed procedures.