Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav alleged on Friday that officials are colluding with BJP workers to remove SP supporters from voter lists. He claimed SDMs share login details to manipulate records. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer asked for specific details to conduct an inquiry into these serious allegations.

New Delhi: Ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Opposition parties are building up pressure on the Chief Electoral Officer of UP (CEOUP) to sanitise the voter list and prevent wrongdoing by its officials. On Friday, Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that officials involved in the ongoing electoral roll revision in UP were colluding with the workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to delete votes of SP supporters and add those of the ruling party. Responding to the allegations, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa sought specific details to enable an inquiry.

Mr Yadav alleged that some Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) were handing over their login IDs and passwords to people deputed by the BJP, who were allegedly working with Booth Level Revision Coordinators (VRCs) to manipulate voter lists.

"Now, only those officers are being posted as SDMs in Uttar Pradesh who hand over their IDs and passwords to a BJP-deputed worker. These BJP workers sit with VRCs and work to delete SP votes and add BJP votes. This is because the OTP is received on the ID and password held by the BJP person. The same person gives the approval," Mr Yadav alleged. He further claimed that under the alleged conspiracy, a target had been set to delete around 10,000 votes of SP supporters in every Assembly constituency.

CEOUP asked Mr Yadav to give specifics regarding his complaint. "It is requested that if there is any such complaint or suspicion about the ERO of even a single assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, please kindly bring it to our notice. Prompt investigation will be conducted, and effective action will be taken accordingly," the CEOUP replied to Mr Yadav's post on X.

The main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh has accused the Election Commission of "irregularities" and "wrongdoings" in election-related processes to favour the ruling BJP in the state, which is set for assembly polls early next year.