Lucknow: In a major crackdown following alleged manipulation of electoral rolls in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa has ordered the deactivation of 806 login IDs of computer assistants working at voter registration centres across all 75 districts of the state.
The statewide action follows the detection of 10,470 erroneous entries in the electoral roll of Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency, where changes were allegedly made without obtaining Form 8 from the concerned voters. The revelation has raised serious questions about the procedure followed for making corrections in electoral rolls and the access given to computer operators to the Election Commission's ECINET portal.
CEO Orders Statewide Deactivation Of Logins
The CEO has directed all District Election Officers (DEOs) to ensure that the login credentials of computer assistants working under Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are immediately disabled. There are two computer assistants in each of the state's 403 Assembly constituencies, taking the total number of affected login IDs to 806.
DEOs have been asked to get the IDs deactivated through the concerned EROs, personally verify compliance in every constituency and submit action taken reports to the CEO's office.
The computer assistants will continue to perform clerical duties, but will no longer be able to make changes or undertake voter-related activities through the ECINET portal using their login credentials. Such modifications will now be handled by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in coordination with EROs.
Pilibhit Voter List Irregularities Trigger Probe
The Pilibhit controversy surfaced after complaints of discrepancies in the voter list, including an instance in which the EPIC number of one voter was displayed against another person's details. The Election Commission of India ordered a probe on October 21 following complaints by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, which alleged manipulation of electoral rolls to deprive people of their voting rights.
According to the CEO, an investigation into EPIC numbers revealed that 13,779 erroneous forms had been entered between May 31 and August 29, of which 10,470 were accepted. The alleged irregularities involved 13,150 entries, according to complaints raised by the opposition parties.
Administration Begins Rectification Of Erroneous Entries
Meanwhile, the Pilibhit district administration has initiated steps to rectify the 10,470 erroneous entries through the prescribed procedure. District Magistrate and District Election Officer Alok Kumar informed representatives of political parties on Saturday that the corrections would be made only after obtaining Form 8 from the respective voters.
He said the earlier modifications had been carried out without physically obtaining Form 8 from the concerned voters, a mandatory requirement for correction of entries in the electoral roll. The Electoral Registration Officer has started the process of receiving applications, and the errors will be rectified on the basis of applications submitted during the forthcoming Special Summary Revision (SSR).
Special Summary Revision Schedule Announced
The SSR of Assembly electoral rolls, based on January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date, will begin on November 12. Claims and objections will be received until December 11. After verification, Electoral Registration Officers will take a final decision on the applications by December 28. The final electoral roll will be published on January 4, 2027.
Kumar disclosed the schedule during a meeting with representatives of political parties after inspecting the EVM and VVPAT warehouse on Saturday. Representatives of the Samajwadi Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party attended the meeting.
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Computer Assistant Faces Action Over Allegations
The role of an outsourced computer assistant in Pilibhit Sadar had also come under scrutiny. The agency providing the assistant terminated his services on October 23 following the allegations.
The statewide disabling of computer assistants' login credentials is intended to prevent further unauthorised changes in electoral rolls and tighten access controls in the voter registration system. The Pilibhit administration's decision to seek fresh Form 8 applications is expected to ensure that the disputed entries are corrected through a verifiable process rather than through the earlier procedure that led to the controversy.
