The Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer on Wednesday ordered legal action against officials allegedly responsible for errors in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency.
The order came hours after the Congress alleged that the names of more than 13,000 voters were changed after the final list was released in April, while their voter identity card numbers and serial numbers remained the same.
The Opposition party also claimed that more than 800 persons were deleted from the voter list even as they continue to reside in the constituency. About 2,600 names were added of individuals who allegedly did not live there, it alleged.
This takes the number of persons affected by the alleged irregularities to more than 16,000 in the Pilibhit Sadar constituency.
Congress leader Rajendra Pal Gautam claimed at a press conference on Wednesday that the alleged changes to voter lists were made between July and September, three months after the final rolls were published.
“A voter sees his name, address, EPIC number and serial number in the final draft and assumes that his vote is secure,” Gautam said. “But if the name is changed later, he may be told on polling day that his name is not in the electoral roll despite having an EPIC...