Agencies hired by govt selectively targeting booths where SP won elections: Akhilesh slams SIR

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged large-scale misuse of the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that professional agencies hired by the government were selectively targeting booths where his party had won elections.

Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said, “The government has hired certain agencies comprising professionals sitting in Delhi, Lucknow and other places across the country.

“They have access to the entire electoral roll data and, using that, they are identifying booths where the Samajwadi Party won elections previously. Form-7 is being systematically filled and sent from such booths.”

According to the Election Commission, Form-7 is used to either object to someone’s inclusion in the electoral roll or request deletion of a name already listed. “The forms are properly filled, printed and then sent. At many places, this has led to protests and disturbances,” Yadav claimed.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise had already influenced election outcomes in the country.

“Through the SIR, they (the BJP) have managed to win the Bihar elections. The exercise played a major role there,” he claimed.

Alleging that similar attempts were being made in poll-bound West Bengal, Yadav said, “The BJP is trying to do the same thing in Bengal. That is why the Bengal government and its chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) are repeatedly saying that the poll panel has become the BJP’s commission.

On Mamata Banerjee arguing her case against the SIR before the Supreme Court as a lawyer, Yadav said, “She was forced to wear the black coat and stand before the Supreme Court against the BJP. This shows the kind of discrimination that is taking place and how the Election Commission has become a ‘Sahyogi Dal’ (ally party) of the BJP.”

He also claimed that several Samajwadi workers and PDA ‘praharis’ had flagged the suspicious forms. “From time to time, the PDA praharis and Samajwadi workers and leaders have given us forms which were already filled,” he claimed.