The Election Commission has ordered action against nine officials after an investigation found that the name Vikas Yadav appeared 11 times in the electoral rolls of Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh Assembly constituency.
The commission has directed departmental proceedings against the then electoral registration officer (ERO) and two assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs). It has also ordered notices for the termination of five booth-level officers (BLOs) and a computer assistant.
11 Vikas Yadavs?
The issue came to light after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised concerns about voter list irregularities at a press conference on October 15. He alleged that the name of an individual, Vikas Yadav, had been entered multiple times in the Azamgarh voter list.
Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa said on Saturday that the Election Commission took note of the allegation and directed the Azamgarh district election officer (DEO) to conduct a detailed investigation.
“A further probe indicated that 11 entries were associated with 11 different persons having the identical name Vikas Yadav. All the 11 Vikas Yadavs are residents of various villages in the constituency, but the details of all the 11 persons, including father’s name, address and date of birth, were identical. Taking cognisance of the error, the district election officer got Form-8 (for correction of entries in existing electoral rolls) filled by 10 Vikas Yadavs, excluding the actual Vikas Yadav, for correction of details,” he said.
The investigation initially found that the name Vikas Yadav had been entered 13 times in the Azamgarh electoral rolls. The entries had identical details, including the father’s name, age and address. Two entries were subsequently deleted.
Further investigation found that the 11 remaining entries belonged to 11 different people named Vikas Yadav who lived in different villages within the constituency. Despite being different individuals, their details, including their fathers’ names, addresses and dates of birth, were identical in the voter list.
To correct the records, the district election officer arranged for 10 of the 11 individuals to fill out Form 8, which is used to correct details in existing electoral rolls. The actual Vikas Yadav was excluded from this process.
ECI orders action against nine officials
The Election Commission termed the incident a serious lapse by the officials responsible for preparing and supervising the electoral rolls and ordered strict action against them under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Rinwa said instructions had been issued to remove the computer assistant and the BLOs found guilty from voter list duties. Notices have also been ordered for the termination of their services. Charge sheets will be issued to the then ERO and two AEROs to initiate departmental proceedings over negligence and inadequate supervision.
The Azamgarh district election officer has also been directed to investigate the electoral rolls of all 10 Assembly constituencies in the district and submit a detailed report to the Uttar Pradesh CEO’s office within a week.
An officer familiar with the case said the Election Commission may consider ordering the registration of a first information report (FIR) against the officials responsible after the investigation is completed, similar to the action taken following voter list irregularities in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency.