UP voter roll deadline extended as 4 crore names face re-examination

The deadline for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Uttar Pradesh has been extended by 15 days. Now, the 4 crore “missing voters” who have been removed from the list are being re-examined.

A large number of these are voters whose names figured in the list in two or more places—once in their native village and once in the city of work. Now, under pressure from SIR, they are getting their names removed from the city list and opting to remain voters in their ancestral villages.

Due to such huge deletions, the number of names in the city voter list is decreasing. In such a situation, political parties, especially the BJP, may face increasing difficulties because urban voters have played a major role in the BJP’s electoral success since 2014.

Why are urban voters turning to rural areas?

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed concern over this issue two days ago and instructed party workers to ensure that eligible voters’ names are not deleted.

Also read: UP political battle intensifies over 4 crore 'missing' voters

According to data from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office of Uttar Pradesh, there are 12.7 million names across the state who have permanently relocated from their addresses.

Meanwhile, around 8.6 million names, which figured in the 2003 list, remained untraceable during the verification process. It is possible that those who had obtained two voter cards (one in the village and the other in the city) have now disappeared from one address. But what is the reason behind this trend of leaving the city as a “voter”?

BJP workers increase their activism

The BJP team monitoring the SIR in Lucknow has increased its activity. Anand Dwivedi, president of the Lucknow Metropolitan BJP, admits that according to the Election Commission’s three categories (ASD: absentee, shifted, dead), there is a decrease of 100,000 voters in each of the six assembly constituencies of Lucknow Metropolitan.

Explaining three reasons for this, Anand Dwivedi said, “From our conversations with people, it’s clear that the first reason for having a village voter card is that they have farming in the village and live in the city. Therefore, now that a choice has to be made, they want to remain rural voters. The second reason is that many people are availing themselves of various government schemes by showing their residence in the village. The third reason is that some people want to contest the village headship elections or become politically active there.”

Also read: Bengal SIR flags 1.67 crore 'suspicious' voters; scanner on 'defective' forms

However, Anand Dwivedi says the BJP’s BLAs are also working to get the forms submitted during this extended period for those who have not yet submitted them.

Concern for property rights

Also, many people who live in cities but own ancestral property in villages fear that if their voter registration remains only in the city, their rights over the village property could be weakened. For this reason, they obtained voter IDs in their villages as well. However, since they live in the city, they also obtained them in the city as per their convenience.

Senior journalist Sneh Ranjan said, “Many people who used to work in the city now want to remain connected to their land. This means that even though their sons and family members live in the city, they want to remain connected to the village. Therefore, they now feel it is right to remain voters with a village address. Now, facilities have also been developed in the village, so people no longer have any problem living there.”

However, Sneh Ranjan also considers the chief minister’s statement regarding 4 crore missing voters as a sign of internal politics within the BJP.

BJP’s dominance in urban areas

Since 2014, the BJP has consistently performed well in urban areas. Not only in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but also in the municipal elections held in 2023, the BJP's dominance in urban areas was evident. In this election, the BJP captured all 17 municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh.

Also read: EC publishes Bengal’s SIR draft list; over 58 lakh voter names deleted

Another impact of this trend could be that voter turnout in cities is already low, and if the name is transferred to villages, these voters will be reluctant to travel far away to vote. In such a situation, this could also impact voter turnout in the upcoming elections.

According to media reports, around 5 lakh names may be deleted in Lucknow Lok Sabha, of which names of around 2.5 lakh voters will be deleted due to duplicate names, whereas around 2 lakh voters from Prayagraj are moving towards villages. More than 41,000 voters from Ayodhya (Faizabad) may also shift.

Parties keep an eye

However, the Election Commission is getting this list re-verified within the extended time limit. The BJP is maintaining vigilance on the voter list. The Lucknow BJP team is actively engaged in adding the names of eligible voters.

Samajwadi Party workers have also become more vigilant, while the work of BLA is being continuously monitored. SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand said, “There are many areas on the outskirts of Lucknow where people have come and settled. Due to the activeness of PDA Praharis (SP workers assigned SIR duty), such names with duplicate voter IDs are now being removed.”

(This story originally appeared in The Federal Desh)