Election Commission orders action against nine officials over voter list anomalies in Azamgarh

LUCKNOW — The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered departmental proceedings and dismissal notices against nine officials following a voter list anomaly in Uttar Pradesh where a single name appeared multiple times in the Azamgarh assembly constituency.

The administrative action follows a public press conference held on October 15, during which Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised allegations regarding irregularities in electoral rolls. Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa stated that taking cognizance of the SP chief’s allegations, the poll panel directed the Azamgarh district election officer to conduct a detailed inquiry into the matter.

According to official findings, the name Vikas Yadav was initially entered 13 times in the Azamgarh assembly constituency voter list with identical details for father’s name, age, and address, of which two entries were subsequently deleted. A further probe revealed that 11 entries were associated with 11 different individuals who shared the name Vikas Yadav and resided in various villages, but identical identifying details such as father’s name, address, and date of birth had been duplicated across the records. An investigation also established that one Vikas Yadav was enrolled in the voter list of the Chauri-Chaura assembly constituency in Gorakhpur district bearing the same date of birth.

Under the ECI’s directives, action is being initiated under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Instructions were issued to immediately remove the computer assistant and five booth level officers (BLOs) found guilty from voter list duties and to issue notices for the termination of their services. Additionally, charge sheets for departmental proceedings are being served to the then electoral registration officer (ERO) and two assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) on grounds of negligence and laxity in supervision.

As part of corrective measures, the district election officer had Form-8 filled out by 10 of the individuals named Vikas Yadav, excluding the actual voter, to rectify the details. Furthermore, the Azamgarh district election officer has been instructed to thoroughly investigate the electoral rolls across all 10 assembly constituencies in the district and submit a detailed report to the Uttar Pradesh CEO office within a week. Broader scrutiny of electoral rolls follows a previous major voter list anomaly that came to light in the Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency.