Min flags duplicate voter entries during electoral roll revision in Varanasi North

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh minister Ravindra Jaiswal raised questions over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in his constituency Varanasi North, alleging that several voters’ names were registered at multiple polling booths.

While Opposition parties have been flagging alleged flaws in the SIR process, Jaiswal’s remarks have added to the debate around the exercise.

Speaking to mediapersons in Varanasi last week, the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Stamp and Court Registration Fees said he had submitted a list of 9,200 such voters to District Magistrate and District Election Officer Satyendra Kumar, seeking a comprehensive inquiry into the matter.

Jaiswal claimed that party workers who took part in the verification exercise physically checked voter details during door to door visits. He said the team verified around 90,000 voters in the constituency and found 9,200 names that were registered at more than one location. According to him, in several cases, the same voter’s name appeared at two or more places, and in some instances at as many as five polling stations.

The minister alleged that many of the voters whose names were found at multiple locations belonged to a particular community and described the issue as “vote jihad,” a remark that drew sharp reactions from Opposition parties.

In a video circulating on social media, Jaiswal is purportedly heard saying that the objective of the Special Intensive Revision was to ensure a thorough and in depth verification of voter lists, but the discovery of thousands of duplicate entries in a single constituency raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of the process. He is also heard saying that every voter should have their name registered at only one place and that the presence of duplicate entries defeats the purpose of the exercise.

Jaiswal further claimed that during door to door verification by booth level officers and party workers, it was found that in many cases the same person’s name, sometimes with variations such as the father’s or husband’s name, appeared multiple times on the rolls.

District election officials said the list submitted by the minister would be examined as per procedure and necessary action would be taken after verification. They added that the Special Intensive Revision exercise was aimed at removing duplicate and ineligible entries and updating voter records to ensure accuracy of the electoral roll.