UP CEO rejects 16 lakh voter addition allegations, cites SIR transparency
Synopsis
The UP Chief Electoral Officer has fired back at a media report claiming 16.18 lakh voters were mysteriously added to the state's rolls — but the rebuttal lands in the middle of a live political firestorm, with the Samajwadi Party accusing the ECI of the opposite wrongdoing: deleting voters. The electoral roll has become the most contested document in Uttar Pradesh ahead of polls.
Key Takeaways
UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa on 6 October 2026 dismissed allegations that 16.18 lakh voters were improperly added to the state's electoral rolls during the SIR.
The 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications were collected by BLOs during house-to-house visits between 27 October 2025 and 6 January 2026 , per ECI instructions.
Only Form-6 applications received after the draft roll's publication on 6 January 2026 were publicly listed under Form-9 claims, in line with electoral rules.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has separately accused the ECI of deliberately deleting voters during the SIR — the opposing allegation to what the media report raised.
The CEO's office asserted that the SIR was 'transparent, participatory, and conducted with active involvement of all political parties' with no legal violations.
The office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, categorically dismissed allegations that more than 16 lakh voters were improperly added to the state's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), calling the claims 'incorrect' and 'based on faulty assumptions.' The rebuttal follows a media report that drew scrutiny to the voter roll exercise in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
What the CEO's Office Said
Uttar Pradesh CEO Navdeep Rinwa said that 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications — used for the addition of names to electoral rolls — were collected during house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the enumeration phase running from 27 October 2025 to 6 January 2026, ahead of the draft roll's publication date. The CEO's office stated these forms were gathered strictly as per Election Commission of India (ECI) instructions issued on 27 October 2025.
'The SIR has been conducted in Uttar Pradesh with utmost transparency and strictly in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and the extant instructions of the Election Commission of India,' the CEO's office said in a statement.
Why the 16.18 Lakh Forms Were Collected
According to the CEO's office, Form-6 applications were distributed and collected from eligible individuals whose names did not appear on the electoral roll as it stood on 27 October 2025 — the date the SIR commenced in Uttar Pradesh. The office clarified that only those Form-6 applications received after the publication of the draft electoral roll on 6 January 2026 were included in the publicly displayed claims list (Form-9), in line with the Registration of Electors Rules and ECI guidelines.
On the question of acceptance rates, the CEO's office rejected what it described as arbitrary percentage-based assumptions, stating: 'There is no formula or logic for the acceptance of forms to adhere to a particular percentage. The Form-6 is accepted after following the due process as per the rules.'
Political Context and Opposition Allegations
The clarification comes amid heightened political tensions over the SIR. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition leaders have accused the ECI of bias, alleging deliberate voter deletions in the run-up to state elections. The SIR process has become a flashpoint, with parties on both sides making competing claims about the integrity of the exercise.
Notably, the CEO's office pushed back against the broader narrative, asserting: 'No such allegations have been levelled till date by any political party or person with reference to the SIR conducted in Uttar Pradesh.' Critics, however, argue that the framing of the digital news report — titled 'The Mysterious 16.18 Lakh Voters Added to Uttar Pradesh's Roll' — reflects a wider credibility deficit around electoral administration in the state.
Process and Legal Compliance
The CEO's office reiterated that the SIR was conducted with 'active involvement of all political parties' and that no provisions of law, rules, or ECI instructions were violated. The exercise was framed as participatory and transparent, with all claims and objections displayed on the UP CEO's official website during the designated claims and objection period.
With Uttar Pradesh heading into a politically sensitive electoral cycle, the dispute over the SIR is unlikely to be resolved by administrative clarifications alone — the ECI's response to formal complaints, if any are filed, will be the next key development to watch.
Point of View
But it does not resolve the deeper trust deficit around electoral administration in Uttar Pradesh. What is striking is that the two sets of allegations — media claims of improper additions and the opposition's claims of deliberate deletions — point in opposite directions, yet both feed the same anxiety: that the voter roll is being manipulated. The ECI's credibility will rest not on press statements but on whether it opens the SIR data to independent audit. In a state as electorally consequential as UP, the perception of a compromised roll is itself a political fact, regardless of the procedural truth.
NationPress
6 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh?
The SIR is a periodic exercise mandated by the Election Commission of India to update and clean up voter rolls by adding eligible new voters and removing ineligible entries. In Uttar Pradesh, the latest SIR ran from 27 October 2025 to 6 January 2026, when the draft electoral roll was published.
Why did the UP CEO reject allegations about 16 lakh voters being added?
UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa said the 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications were legitimately collected from eligible individuals whose names were missing from the roll as of 27 October 2025, strictly following ECI instructions. He called the media report's claims 'incorrect' and 'based on faulty assumptions,' noting there is no prescribed acceptance-rate formula for such forms.
What has the Samajwadi Party alleged about the SIR process?
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition leaders have accused the ECI of bias, alleging that the SIR was used to deliberately delete genuine voters in Uttar Pradesh ahead of state elections — the opposite concern to the media report's claim of improper additions.
Were the newly collected voter forms publicly disclosed during the SIR?
According to the CEO's office, Form-6 applications received after the draft roll's publication on 6 January 2026 were displayed on the UP CEO's official website during the claims and objection period, in compliance with the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
What happens next in the UP electoral roll controversy?
With the CEO's office having issued its clarification, attention will shift to whether any political party formally approaches the ECI with documented complaints. The ECI's response to any such complaints — and whether it orders an independent review of the SIR data — will be the next significant development.
