BJP-Linked Men Filed 6,500 Voter Deletion Pleas in Uttarakhand
Newslaundry finds bulk deletion objections concentrated among Muslim electors
Dehradun: Five men linked to the BJP filed around 6,500 objections seeking deletion of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand, with all the electors targeted by them being Muslims, according to an investigation by Newslaundry.
The five were identified as the highest-volume objectors across Uttarakhand’s 70 Assembly constituencies, with individual filings ranging from 230 to 4,855. In three constituencies, a single objector accounted for between 49 per cent and 99 per cent of all deletion objections, the report said.
The most striking case was reported from Kichha Assembly constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district. Of 4,857 objections filed at the stage examined, 4,855 were submitted by Rajesh Tiwari, identified in the report as a BJP booth-level agent. Most of his applications cited the ground that the elector was “already enrolled” elsewhere.
The number subsequently increased. By August 29, nearly 9,300 objections had been filed in Kichha, of which 7,589 related to alleged duplicate registrations. Tiwari alone had filed 6,412 objections on the ground of duplicate enrolment.
Former BJP MLA from Kichha Rajesh Shukla was quoted as saying that an internal review had allegedly identified more than 8,000 voters registered both in Kichha and in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh districts, including Bareilly, Pilibhit and Rampur.
Uttarakhand BJP spokesperson Vinod Chamoli said filing an objection did not automatically result in deletion of a voter’s name and maintained that the party did not follow a policy of communal exclusion. He said objections were subject to verification by election officials.
Election officials have also stressed that no voter can be removed merely on the basis of a Form 7 objection. Kichha Electoral Registration Officer Gaurav Pandey said bulk applications would undergo cross-verification and that no deletion would take place without field verification, statutory notice and an opportunity for the elector concerned to be heard.
The SIR exercise in Uttarakhand has triggered political controversy, with opposition parties alleging targeted attempts to remove voters from the rolls, while election authorities have said genuine voters would not be deleted without due verification.