Akhilesh Yadav Alleges Systematic Voter List Tampering by BJP, Demands Supreme Court Intervention
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing its functionaries of orchestrating large-scale manipulation of voter lists through the misuse of Form-7. In a series of allegations made on Thursday, Yadav presented what he claims is evidence of organized efforts to delete names from electoral rolls, particularly targeting specific communities.
Evidence Presented Through Videos and Documentation
The SP chief uploaded multiple videos featuring booth level officers and PDA Praharis - party volunteers overseeing the Summary Revision of electoral rolls - who narrated instances of alleged voter list manipulation. In one particularly detailed account, PDA Prahari Suraj Singh described how at booth numbers 112 to 116 of Raja Mohalla in Gonda Sadar assembly constituency, a batch of Form-7 applications seeking name deletions were submitted by an individual identified as Dinesh Kumar.
When contacted, former corporator Dinesh Kumar denied submitting any such forms on camera, claiming the signatures on the documents were forged. This revelation adds weight to Yadav's allegations of systematic fraud in the electoral roll revision process.
Pattern of Alleged Manipulation Across Constituencies
Further evidence emerged from Rae Bareli Sadar, where at booth number 166, a stack of Form-7 applications specifically seeking deletion of Muslim names were allegedly filed by unauthorized individuals. Local Samajwadi Party functionaries and PDA Praharis have submitted a formal memorandum regarding this incident to the Rae Bareli District Magistrate.
Additional testimony came from Booth Level Officers Meena Yadav and Meeta Devi of booth numbers 111 and 114, who claimed that a Booth Level Agent named Amarnath handed them batches of Form-7 applications and pressured them to accept the documents. These accounts suggest a coordinated effort across multiple constituencies to manipulate voter lists through questionable means.
Strong Criticism of Election Commission
In his most provocative statement, Akhilesh Yadav questioned whether the Election Commission of India had effectively "hired BJP on contract" to conduct the Summary Revision of electoral rolls. "The organized manner in which the BJP has taken over the SIR exercise, the ECI should now put its 'flag' on houses of BJP functionaries," Yadav stated sarcastically.
He went further, suggesting that "it was about time that the ECI turned the houses of BJP functionaries into booths," implying that the ruling party had effectively co-opted the electoral process. This criticism comes days after Yadav first accused the Election Commission of allowing BJP to manipulate the electoral roll revision.
Call for Supreme Court Intervention and Judicial Probe
Expressing diminishing faith in other institutions, the Samajwadi Party leader made an urgent appeal to the Supreme Court to intervene in what he described as a crisis of democratic integrity. "BJP and its associates are acting as criminals. They are threatening BLOs and pressuring them to delete votes of PDA community in general and the Muslim community in particular on the basis of forged documents," Yadav declared in a social media post.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister demanded immediate suspension of Form-7 usage until what he called a "foolproof alternate arrangement" could be implemented. He has called for a comprehensive judicial probe to identify what he described as forces attempting to "derail the democratic set-up in the country."
Documentation for Legal Action
Yadav has instructed PDA Praharis to meticulously document all instances of Form-7 misuse with concrete evidence, preparing for the filing of First Information Reports against those allegedly involved in voter list manipulation. This systematic approach to evidence collection suggests the Samajwadi Party plans to pursue legal avenues alongside political pressure to address their concerns about electoral integrity.
The allegations represent a significant escalation in political tensions surrounding electoral processes in Uttar Pradesh, with the opposition accusing the ruling party of undermining democratic fundamentals through systematic voter exclusion tactics.
