The Samajwadi Party has raised serious concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Greater Noida, alleging that voters in several Muslim-dominated localities are being systematically bypassed in the electoral enrollment process.
Allegations of Voter Disenfranchisement
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajkumar Bhati has made startling claims that residents in multiple Muslim-majority neighborhoods were not even provided with enumeration forms during the door-to-door verification drive. Bhati directly accused the local administration of attempting to disenfranchise people from minority communities by deliberately neglecting these areas during the crucial voter registration process.
"People in several Muslim areas say they weren't contacted at all," Bhati revealed, emphasizing that residents in these pockets were either completely ignored by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or remained unaware of the necessary paperwork they needed to submit for voter registration.
SP's Response and Verification Drive
In response to these alleged irregularities, the Samajwadi Party has initiated a comprehensive verification campaign. The party is deploying a 25-member special team to conduct door-to-door surveys with voter lists, specifically targeting neighborhoods where complaints about voter exclusion have emerged.
Bhati explained the party's strategy: "SP teams have been asked to help people fill out the enumeration forms on the spot, if needed, in these areas. We are visiting every house to see who got the forms and who didn't." The verification teams will specifically check whether households received the necessary forms and whether their details were correctly recorded in the electoral rolls.
Contrasting Treatment Allegations
The party spokesperson made even more serious allegations about differential treatment between urban and rural areas. Bhati claimed that in sectors and societies with significant BJP support, BLOs received instructions to preserve votes even when voters couldn't be located at their registered addresses.
"Whereas in rural areas, where there are OBC, SC/ST and minority votes, BLOs are negligent in the distribution of enumeration forms," Bhati stated. He further alleged that BLOs are distributing very few forms in these areas, and only a limited number of forms are being uploaded online from these locations.
In a dramatic revelation on social media platform X, Bhati wrote that a BLO told him anonymously that officers in Noida and Greater Noida received instructions to "save 100 fake votes at each booth in sectors and societies" by uploading fake IDs and photographs, while simultaneously cutting legitimate votes in rural regions.
Administration's Firm Denial
The district administration has categorically rejected all allegations as baseless and misleading. District Magistrate Medha Roopam, who also serves as the district election officer, assured that the SIR process is being conducted with complete transparency and public participation.
"The SIR process is being conducted in Noida and Greater Noida. To make the process transparent and people-oriented, cooperation is being sought from BLAs nominated by all political parties, RWAs and residents," Roopam stated. She emphasized that all BLOs receive intensive training regularly, and helpline numbers have been established for public convenience.
Another senior official confirmed that no formal complaints have been received from Greater Noida or Dadri areas regarding voter exclusion during the revision process so far.
Electoral Context and Commission Guidelines
The controversy emerges against the backdrop of significant political stakes in the region. In the 2022 assembly elections, BJP secured 62% of votes in Noida constituency compared to SP's 18%. Similar patterns were observed in Dadri constituency (BJP 61%, SP 22%) and Jewar constituency (BJP 50%, SP 26%). Gautam Buddha Nagar district had approximately 16.24 lakh registered voters during the 2022 elections.
According to Election Commission of India guidelines, BLOs cannot delete any names from electoral rolls if residents are absent during verification and must conduct at least three repeat visits to ensure no eligible voter is excluded from the registration process.
The situation remains developing as political parties and administration officials present conflicting narratives about the integrity of the voter revision exercise in Greater Noida.
