Have UP District Officials Rebutted Akhilesh Yadav’s Claims on Voter Deletions?

New Delhi, Aug 19 (NationPress) Following the allegations made by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav regarding the Election Commission's mishandling of voter affidavits, district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh have responded by rejecting his claims. On August 17, Yadav took to X, asserting that the Election Commission (EC) denied receiving affidavits submitted by the SP concerning wrongful deletions of voters' names.

Yadav stated, "The EC should verify the receipts from their office as evidence of our affidavit submissions. We call for the Election Commission to provide an affidavit confirming the authenticity of the digital receipts we received; otherwise, both the Election Commission and Digital India will be under scrutiny. If the BJP departs, truth will reign supreme," he remarked.

In response, the Barabanki District Magistrate clarified on August 19 that they had reviewed two affidavits regarding alleged wrongful deletions in Assembly constituency 266-Kursi.

"Two voters from the 266-Kursi Assembly constituency in Barabanki filed affidavits about their names being wrongly removed from the voter list. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that both voters are indeed listed on the voter rolls," stated the Barabanki DM on X.

Similarly, the Jaunpur DM addressed concerns regarding five voters in Assembly constituency 366-Jaunpur, whose names were reportedly deleted incorrectly.

"An email complaint was received concerning the erroneous removal of five voters' names in the Jaunpur Assembly Constituency 366. All five individuals had passed away prior to 2022. This was verified by their families, local residents, and the local councillor. The names of these deceased individuals were removed following the rules, making the complaint entirely unfounded and misleading," the Jaunpur DM stated on X.

In Kasganj, affidavits concerning eight voters from Assembly constituency 101-Amampur were reviewed. The district authorities determined that seven of the names were duplicates.

"A complaint was filed via email regarding the incorrect removal of eight voters' names in the 101 Amanpur Assembly Constituency of Kasganj District. The investigation revealed that seven names were listed twice, and one name was removed as per regulations," the Kasganj DM explained on X.

He added, "The names of these seven voters remain on the voter list today. Following the death of one voter, their spouse submitted Form 7, leading to the removal of the deceased's name."

These clarifications emphasize the Election Commission's stance that deletions are conducted strictly according to protocol.

Nonetheless, this political dispute indicates that voter list management may become a contentious issue as elections approach, with opposition parties likely to question the EC’s transparency.