UP: 13 entries for ‘Vikas Yadav’ in voter list, action against 8 election staff

• Inquiry finds 13 entries bearing the name Vikas Yadav in Azamgarh’s electoral roll.

• Uttar Pradesh CEO orders departmental action against three election officers and removal of six staff.

• Probe follows SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s complaint about voter roll discrepancies.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has ordered departmental proceedings against three election officers and the removal of six other staff members after an inquiry found discrepancies in the electoral roll of the Azamgarh Assembly constituency.

The action follows a complaint by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who alleged on 15 October that the name Vikas Yadav appeared 10 times in the constituency’s voter list.

According to the CEO’s office, a preliminary inquiry found 13 entries bearing the name Vikas Yadav in Hindi in the electoral roll of the 347-Azamgarh constituency. Two of the entries had already been deleted in accordance with the rules.

The remaining 11 entries relate to 11 different individuals residing in their respective villages in Azamgarh district, the District Election Officer’s report said. Form 8 applications have been filed to correct the names and other details of 10 individuals, excluding the actual Vikas Yadav among the 11, it added.

The inquiry also found a voter with the same name and father’s name in the Chauri-Chaura Assembly constituency in Gorakhpur district. Officials said this person was different from the 13 individuals listed in Azamgarh.

CEO Navdeep Rinwa ordered the filing of a chargesheet to initiate departmental proceedings against the Electoral Registration Officer and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers over alleged negligence and lax supervision in preparing the electoral roll.

The CEO also ordered the removal of five Booth Level Officers and a computer assistant, with the process for terminating their services to be initiated. Action against the officers and employees will be taken under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, Rinwa said.

The Azamgarh District Election Officer has also been directed to examine the electoral rolls of all Assembly constituencies in the district and submit a detailed report within a week.

The inquiry follows another case in Pilibhit, where the CEO’s office said irregularities had been found in 10,470 entries in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency’s electoral roll. Legal action was ordered against two Electoral Registration Officers, while the services of a computer assistant at the constituency’s Voter Registration Centre were ordered to be terminated.

The Pilibhit inquiry followed complaints by the Congress and the Samajwadi Party that different names were appearing against voters’ Electoral Photo Identity Card numbers in the final electoral roll published on 10 April after the Special Intensive Revision exercise.

Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to hold Assembly elections early next year.