Lucknow: Adding explosively to the raging controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the poll-bound state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has alleged that nearly 1.27 crore Hindu voters have been left out of the state’s electoral rolls even as more Muslims have been enrolled.
Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of facilitating vote chori (theft) through the SIR exercise and have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In Uttar Pradesh, however, the controversy has taken a different turn, with Yogi alleging that a disproportionately large number of Hindu voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls, including beneficiaries of government welfare schemes.
Addressing a media event in Ayodhya on Saturday, Yogi challenged Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to demand the withdrawal of the SIR exercise. He claimed that the number of Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh had increased by 1.63 per cent, while the number of Hindu voters had declined by 1.27 crore.
“We have also submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission, seeking an explanation for the reasons behind these changes,” the chief minister said.
Yogi claimed that around 1.27 crore Hindu voters were missing from the Assembly electoral rolls. Of these, 66 lakh voters were allegedly enrolled in the state’s panchayat electoral rolls but not in the Assembly voter list. He further claimed that 55 lakh Hindu voters who were beneficiaries of government welfare schemes had also been left out.
He also referred to around 4.5 lakh voters in the 18-19 age group whose names, he claimed, were missing from the electoral rolls. The SIR exercise itself was defended by Yogi, who said the revision was necessary to remove the names of deceased voters. He claimed that around 46 lakh deceased voters were still listed in the electoral rolls before the exercise.
“After removing the names of deceased voters, the names of other eligible voters should have been included. But that has not happened. We are demanding the removal of Bangladeshi infiltrators and the inclusion of Hindu voters who have been left out. We have submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission and hope that all eligible names will be included soon,” he said.
Akhilesh, meanwhile, questioned the source of the chief minister’s figures, particularly the religious breakup of voter deletions and additions. Speaking to reporters, the Samajwadi chief asked how Yogi had accessed religion-wise voter data when the Election Commission had not released any such information.
On Monday, Akhilesh also took to X to suggest linking Aadhaar with voting and introducing tamper-proof metal voter ID cards instead of paper or plastic ones.
“The demand is simple. Aadhaar should be linked to voting. Instead of paper or plastic cards, metal cards should be issued so that they cannot be duplicated. Biometric identification through fingerprints or iris scans should also be adopted, as these are unique to every individual. This would prevent the BJP from facilitating bogus voting,” he wrote.
Not the first time
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had raised concerns over the possible exclusion of voters during the SIR exercise in December last year as well, while addressing BJP workers in Lucknow.
Referring to Uttar Pradesh’s population of around 25 crore, Yogi had said that nearly 65 percent of the population should be eligible to vote, taking the estimated number of voters to around 16 crore.
However, according to his assessment at the time, the SIR process had covered only around 12 crore voters, leaving nearly four crore eligible voters unaccounted for. He had claimed that “85 to 90 per cent of them are ours”, urging party workers to ensure that eligible voters were included in the electoral rolls.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer’s figures, the state had 15.44 crore voters in the electoral rolls frozen on 27 October 2025. The number has since fallen to 13.39 crore, representing a decline of around 2.05 crore voters following the SIR exercise, which concluded in March this year.
District-wise figures also show significant variation in voter deletions. BJP strongholds such as Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and Agra have witnessed relatively higher deletions. In contrast, minority-dominated districts such as Rampur, Moradabad, Sambhal and Saharanpur, where the Opposition has a stronger presence, have recorded comparatively fewer deletions.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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