UP Voter List Row: 10,470 Names Changed in One Constituency, FIR Filed Against Officials

UP Voter List Irregularities: 10,470 Entries Altered in Pilibhit, FIR Filed Against Three

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Thursday confirmed irregularities in 10,470 entries in the electoral roll of the Pilibhit Assembly constituency and ordered legal action against two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The services of a computer assistant posted at the constituency’s Voter Registration Centre have also been terminated.

An FIR has been registered against the two officers and the computer assistant by the Assistant District Election Officer.

According to a statement issued by the CEO, an inquiry report submitted by the Pilibhit District Election Officer found that the computer assistant had entered 13,779 Form 8 applications seeking corrections to voter details between May 31 and August 29, 2026. However, the office had no physical application forms or supporting documents corresponding to these entries.

Of the 13,779 applications entered into the system, corrections in 10,470 cases were approved. The inquiry found irregularities in all 10,470 approved entries, the statement said.

Authorities have initiated steps to rectify the irregular entries. Departmental proceedings have been ordered against both EROs, while a separate inquiry will examine the role of Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.

Probe Ordered After Complaints of Voter Identity Changes

The inquiry was initiated after complaints that names displayed against the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers of voters had changed, despite their inclusion in the final electoral roll published on April 10, 2026, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Uttar Pradesh.

The CEO has also directed the Pilibhit District Election Officer to examine all Form 6 applications for adding names and Form 7 applications for deleting names entered by the computer assistant between April 10 and October 21. A detailed report has been sought by Friday.

Speaking to The Indian Express, CEO Navdeep Rinwa said the office received complaints about the Pilibhit electoral roll as part of a memorandum submitted by the Samajwadi Party (SP) on October 19. The memorandum also raised several other issues.

“The matter concerning Pilibhit was mentioned on the third and fourth pages,” Rinwa said. He added that the CEO’s office remained closed for Dussehra until October 20, after which the matter was taken up and a report sought from the Pilibhit District Magistrate.

Advocate Alleges Names Were Replaced in Voter Records

A separate complaint was submitted by advocate Faizan Ali Khan, who wrote to the Pilibhit district administration on October 14, alleging that his name and that of his younger brother, Farhan, no longer appeared correctly in the electoral records despite both being listed in the final roll following the SIR.

Khan, a resident of Awas Vikas Colony in Pilibhit, told The Indian Express that he and his brother had appeared before election officials in response to an official notice and submitted documents that were subsequently verified.

In his complaint, Khan alleged that checking his EPIC number displayed the name “Raees Ali”, identified as the son or relative of Huzaib Ali, instead of his correct details. His father’s name is Mushfiq Ali Khan.

Similarly, when Farhan’s details were checked, the name “Gufran Aslam”, identified as the son of Hamid Aslam, appeared, Khan alleged. He said no individuals with those names were known in his neighbourhood and claimed that fictitious identities had been entered into the records, potentially putting the brothers’ voting rights at risk.

Khan said the administration initially dismissed the discrepancies as a “technical error”. He subsequently sought restoration of their correct details and an investigation into how the changes were made after the final electoral roll had been published and their original documents verified.

He also called for the inquiry to be extended to the district’s three other Assembly constituencies — Barkhera, Puranpur and Bisalpur.

Congress Claims Wider Discrepancies Across Constituency

Local Congress leader Kumud Gangwar said he became aware of the issue after advocate Rehan Ali, a Pilibhit resident, informed him that the names recorded against the EPIC numbers of his brother and sister had allegedly been altered.

Gangwar further claimed that the dates of revision displayed on the website did not correspond to any official revision exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Ali told The Indian Express that he discovered the discrepancies by chance after overhearing a conversation between a voter and a computer operator. He then checked his own family’s records.

“I alerted my neighbours and others in my booth and found more anomalies. So I informed Gangwar, who is a friend,” Ali said.

According to Gangwar, the Congress formed a team of 55 people, including volunteers, to examine electoral roll entries booth by booth across the Pilibhit Assembly constituency. The team reviewed records covering approximately 3.48 lakh voters over several days and identified 13,150 entries with discrepancies, he claimed.

Gangwar alleged that many of the changes appeared to have been made late at night, on public holidays or on Sundays.

He and SP leaders further claimed that most of the voters whose details had allegedly been altered were Muslims. According to Census 2011 figures, Muslims account for roughly a quarter of Pilibhit district’s population.

Opposition parties have argued that discrepancies between voters’ identities and electoral records could lead to eligible voters being challenged or prevented from voting during elections.

Opposition Parties Seek Wider Verification

With Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, the controversy has raised questions about the accuracy of electoral rolls in the state.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, BJP candidate Sanjay Singh Gangwar won the Pilibhit seat by a margin of fewer than 7,000 votes, with the SP candidate finishing second. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won the Pilibhit parliamentary constituency by a margin exceeding one lakh votes.

SP spokesperson Udaiveer Singh said the party feared similar discrepancies might exist in other constituencies and planned to conduct checks in around 100 Assembly seats across Uttar Pradesh.

“We are questioning how such changes could have been made after the SIR. In particular, names of Muslim voters have been changed,” Singh said.

Congress state president Aradhana Mishra said the party would issue instructions to all 75 District Congress Committees to verify electoral rolls in their respective areas. The party would also submit a representation to the ECI at the state level, she added.

BJP Calls for Scrutiny and Accountability

BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said his party believed in the accuracy of electoral rolls and maintained that all political parties had a responsibility to scrutinise voter lists during the revision process.

He urged parties to participate in the verification process rather than remain inactive and later blame the Election Commission.

On the reported irregularities in Pilibhit, Tripathi said any deliberate alteration of voter records should be investigated and officials found guilty should face action.

The inquiry ordered by the CEO is expected to examine how the entries were processed, identify those responsible and determine the extent of the discrepancies in the constituency’s electoral records.