UP Electoral Roll Revision Sparks Allegations of Voter Data Tampering

The Congress party raised concerns on October 21 after the final electoral rolls for the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency were published, alleging that more than 13,000 voters had been replaced with other names. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer, Navdeep Rinwa, confirmed irregularities in 10,470 roll entries the following day. An investigation by the district election officer found that a computer assistant had entered 13,779 Form 8 applications, which are used to correct details or shift a voter’s residence. On October 22, Rinwa announced that legal action would be taken against current and former electoral registration officers in the constituency and that the computer assistant’s services at the voter registration centre would be terminated. On October 25, the Election Commission ordered a reverification of all names added to, deleted from or amended in Uttar Pradesh’s electoral rolls through Forms 6, 7 and 8 by computer assistants in all 403 Assembly constituencies after the special intensive revision ended on April 10. The revision, part of the second phase of the voter roll update, saw more than two crore names removed, representing 13.2% of the electorate. The BJP‑ruled state, which had over 15 crore electors before the revision, faces scrutiny as the exercise began in June 2025 and has faced questions about its implementation pace and impact on genuine electors.