SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav Demands Aadhaar Linkage For All Voters, Alleges Manipulation In UP Electoral Rolls

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday demanded that all voters be linked with Aadhaar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being misused to selectively delete votes and tilt the electoral balance in Uttar Pradesh.

Alleges Conspiracy to Cut Votes of PDA Section

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav said no political party had opposed the SIR process, but serious questions had arisen about its neutrality. He alleged that a conspiracy was underway to cut votes of the PDA section and increase those of a particular party. Referring to a report in a reputed newspaper, he claimed that instructions were issued to increase 200 votes at every booth, which, he said, deepened suspicions about manipulation.

The SP chief said linking all votes with Aadhaar was necessary to bring transparency and prevent discrepancies. He alleged that data prepared by booth level officers for panchayat elections did not match the Assembly electoral rolls. “We have prepared a framework and will approach the Election Commission to demand an investigation. We will not allow conflicting voter data,” he said.

Draft Electoral Roll Raises Suspicions

Yadav said the release of the draft electoral roll appeared to confirm his apprehensions. “I had feared that nearly three crore names would be deleted. Even before the list was published, the Chief Minister publicly spoke about four crore votes being cut,” he said, questioning how such figures could be stated when no official data was available. “If the number was decided beforehand, how impartial is this entire exercise,” he asked.

The former chief minister also targeted the BJP government over law and order, alleging that crime and corruption were at their peak and women were unsafe. “The promise of zero tolerance has become zero,” he said.

Cites Recent Incidents and Rising Crimes Against Women

Referring to the recent Meerut incident involving an attack on a woman and the abduction of her daughter, Yadav said crimes against women and cybercrime were rising sharply in the state. He claimed that in Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency, five women face violence every day and cases of rape were being reported every 15 days.

Yadav said the BJP’s claims on women’s safety were false and asserted that people of Uttar Pradesh would vote the party out of power in the 2027 Assembly elections. He also alleged that organised crime had not ended in the state. “Cases earlier seen as local, including the cough syrup episode, are now emerging as international rackets. The mafia raj has not ended, it is expanding,” he said.