The release of the draft electoral roll under Uttar Pradesh’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which proposes removing 2.89 crore voters—nearly 19 per cent of the state’s electorate—has drawn strong criticism from opposition parties. They have accused the authorities of large-scale disenfranchisement, rushing the process, and acting with political motives.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai described the deletions as a serious conspiracy and called for a comprehensive probe into the exercise. He flagged concerns over the fact that 1.13 crore voter forms distributed by Booth Level Officers were never returned, arguing that this raised doubts about the credibility of the revision process.
Rai suggested that the outcome would have been different had the exercise not been carried out in haste, and alleged that several BLOs lost their lives during the revision, adding that the government failed to show due regard for voters by not allowing sufficient time for participation.
The Samajwadi Party also expressed apprehension, cautioning that marginalised groups could be disproportionately affected. Party leader Fakhrul Hasan Chaand said the SP would closely monitor the situation to ensure that PDA voters—Pichhda, Dalit and Adivasi communities—were not excluded from the rolls.
From Saharanpur, SP Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood said that around a quarter of the city’s electorate appeared to have been removed, terming the scale of deletions deeply disturbing. He demanded transparency from the Election Commission and stressed that the revision process must safeguard every citizen’s right to vote, Maktoob Media reported.
Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput argued that striking off nearly one-fifth of the electorate undermined the legitimacy of the BJP-led government, suggesting that such figures raised serious questions about whether the government had been formed through a fair process.
Strengthening the opposition’s claims, senior Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal said that his own name, along with those of his family members, had been deleted despite the submission of all necessary documents. He maintained that their names had appeared in earlier electoral rolls and that they possessed receipts confirming form submission. Sappal alleged that the SIR exercise was intentionally complex and flawed, and claimed that crores of voters had been removed on similar grounds.
“Moreover, I am not an unknown individual. I have worked as Joint Secretary to the Vice President of India and in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. I am also a member of the Congress Working Committee and a familiar face on TV. In fact, I have also been part of Congress delegations to the Election Commission on SIR and other issues. The BLO is also familiar with this. Yet our names were deleted!” he wrote.
The ruling party has dismissed the opposition’s allegations, with Uttar Pradesh minister Jaiveer Singh cautioning against politicising the Special Intensive Revision exercise. He said the revision was being carried out by the Election Commission to weed out bogus, deceased, duplicate and shifted voters in order to maintain a transparent and credible electoral roll.
Singh maintained that voters whose names were wrongly deleted have the option to get them restored, pointing out that there are clear mechanisms for correction and on-ground verification by Booth Level Officers. He described the opposition’s claims as unfounded and aimed at discrediting a constitutional body.
Election authorities have also defended the revision process. Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, while addressing the media, advised voters to check their names in the draft rolls and submit Form 8 in case of any discrepancies or required updates. He said the period for filing claims and objections would remain open for a month, until February 6, with hearings and verifications scheduled to continue until February 27.
Data released by the Election Commission showed that among the 2.89 crore voters proposed for deletion, 46.23 lakh were identified as deceased, 2.17 crore were found to be absent or to have shifted, and 25.47 lakh were listed as having multiple registrations.
Officials noted that Uttar Pradesh has seen the highest number of deletions among all states and Union Territories where the SIR has been conducted so far, exceeding figures recorded in states such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.