Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 13 (ANI): Congress MP Pawan Khera on Friday questioned the BJP over Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's claim that 1.27 crore Hindu voters were missing from the electoral rolls, saying his party had been flagging concerns about alleged deletion of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise across the country for months.
Speaking to ANI, Khera said, "They're only saying this today. We've been saying for months that wherever SIR is happening across the country, votes are being deleted. Now, if their voters—or anyone who knows someone who got deleted—ask why Amit Shah is having their names removed. Do they want to lose?"
This comes after CM Yogi, in an interview earlier, raised concerns over alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, claiming that around 1.27 crore Hindu voters whose names appeared in the state panchayat election voter lists were missing from the Election Commission of India's electoral rolls.
He also cited figures of 66 lakh such voters, including 55 lakh Hindu beneficiaries of government welfare schemes and around 4.5 lakh voters aged 18 and 19, whose names were allegedly missing from the rolls.
The Chief Minister said the state government had submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission seeking clarification over the discrepancies, while asserting that the poll body was an independent constitutional authority.
Earlier in the day, taking a swipe at the BJP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP was preparing to bring people from several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, to register them as voters in Uttar Pradesh amid claims that 1.27 crore Hindu voters were missing from the electoral rolls.
"If it is true that 1.27 crore Hindu voters are missing, that is precisely why this meeting (of BJP) is taking place. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing regarding those 'shifting' votes, votes that were deleted due to people relocating (to Delhi or elsewhere), or instances where fraudulent names had been added. The BJP is now orchestrating a plan involving underground or unregistered elements—to bring in individuals from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and potentially other locations as well, in order to get them registered as voters. That is what the BJP is preparing for," he said.
"I would say: announce the election dates—the very day they are announced, the BJP will be defeated," Yadav further asserted.
Yadav made the remarks after arriving at the Samajwadi Party's state headquarters to attend an election review meeting with assembly-level presidents of 86 reserved constituencies.
As the 2027 State Assembly election approaches, both the BJP and the Samajwadi Party are exchanging heated jibes. (ANI)
"Ask Amit Shah": Pawan Khera over UP CM's claim of 1.27 crore Hindu voters missing
