UP Voter Deletions: Congress’s Mishra Asks Why BJP Defends EC

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra Mona asked at a press conference in Lucknow on Thursday, 5 November, why the BJP is defending the Election Commission instead of answering the opposition’s questions on voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to ANI. She said CEC Gyanesh Kumar “must now provide an answer”. These are the Congress’s allegations; the reports do not carry any reply from the Commission.

Mishra’s Charge Against the Ruling Party

Mishra said that “for the first time, the ruling party has taken to the streets against the Opposition,” pointing to BJP leaders and ministers who have been sent out across Uttar Pradesh. She said the BJP was trying to turn attention away from the Congress’s “vote theft” charge, which Rahul Gandhi raised at the INDIA bloc’s 1 November rally. She also called the deletions in Assam and West Bengal a “major conspiracy” by the BJP, citing a remark by the West Bengal Chief Minister that people removed from the rolls would not get government benefits, as The News Mill reported.

Two Sets of Numbers on Uttar Pradesh’s Roll

Mishra cited Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s remarks that the state should have 16 crore 70 lakh 75 thousand voters and that 1.27 crore names had been removed. Outlook reported on 1 November that Adityanath told a BJP state executive meeting that the names of 1.27 crore Hindus were missing from the lists, and asked party workers to work with booth level officers; that report did not verify the figure. Mishra said the Commission put the state’s roll after SIR at about 13.47 crore. The Election Commission data reported by Outlook gives a final roll of 13,39,84,792, after more than 2.04 crore net deletions and over 84 lakh additions.

Also read INDIA Bloc Rally at Ramlila Maidan on 1 Nov: Route, Timings, Curbs

IPB News has set out the post-SIR figures for five poll-bound states: Uttar Pradesh’s roll went from 15.44 crore to 12.56 crore in the draft and 13.40 crore in the final list. The opposition’s case was made at length at the Ramlila Maidan rally, and more is collected under the SIR tag.

Protests Continue, No Commission Reply Yet

The Congress has said its campaign will not stop until the CEC resigns; in Karnataka, state Congress president B K Hariprasad said the protests would move to taluks and blocks from Friday. The Election Commission has not responded to Mishra’s questions in the reports available. Uttar Pradesh is one of five states going to Assembly polls early next year.

Source: Based on reporting by ANI, The News Mill and Outlook.

Image: Outlook / PTI.