UP CEO orders mandatory verification of voter rolls entries amid irregularity allegations
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After massive discrepancies were found in electoral roll entries, with voters’ names and other details reportedly altered, leading to the suspension of officials involved in the process, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Navdeep Rinwa, has made verification of Form-6, Form-7 and Form-8 entries made by computer assistants since the conclusion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on April 10, 2026, mandatory.
In a press release issued following a review meeting on October 24, Rinwa directed election officials to ensure that physical application forms were digitised exclusively by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) through the BLO App, barring computer assistants from entering data from such forms. He also instructed officials to verify entries made by computer assistants and prevent the recurrence of irregularities reported in electoral rolls published after the SIR.
The meeting, attended by divisional commissioners, district election officers (DEOs), electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) and computer assistants, reviewed preparations for the forthcoming Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls.
The directions followed allegations by Congress leaders that voter details had been manipulated in the Pilibhit constituency despite the final rolls having been published on April 10. On October 21, the party alleged that details of 13,150 voters had been changed between July and September, although their Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and serial numbers remained unchanged.
It further claimed that 804 residents had been removed and around 2,600 non-residents added, taking the alleged irregular entries to 16,554.
Rinwa warned that responsibility would be fixed under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, if such irregularities were established, with the ERO, AERO and computer assistant concerned held accountable; the DEO would also face responsibility if supervisory lapses were found.
EROs were instructed to review pending Form-6, Form-7 and Form-8 applications daily and dispose of them promptly in accordance with the rules. Complaints received since April 10 through grievance portals, social media and other channels were also to be resolved without delay.
The CEO further directed officials to ensure that requests submitted through the ECINET app’s “Book A Call With BLO” service and the Election Commission’s voter services portal remained pending for no longer than 48 hours.
Warning against negligence, Rinwa ordered the removal of duplicate entries and called for stringent supervision, while officials were told not to share ERONET login credentials and to ensure that upcoming draft electoral rolls were free of duplicate entries.