INDIA bloc alleges 5,000 UP residents added to Bihar voter rolls; EC calls claim ‘imaginary’

The Election Commission, however, rejected the charge, asserting that the figure of doubtful voters was “imaginary.”

The opposition INDIA bloc, on Tuesday, alleged that “more than 5,000” residents of Uttar Pradesh have been registered as voters in a Bihar district bordering the state, purportedly to benefit the ruling NDA in the upcoming assembly polls.

The Election Commission, however, rejected the charge, asserting that the figure of doubtful voters was “imaginary.”

At a press conference in Phulparas, Madhubani district, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha claimed that the “doubtful” voters had been enrolled mostly in the Valmiki Nagar assembly segment of West Champaran district.

They cited the case of a 45-year-old man whose name appeared on the electoral rolls despite being an elector of Khadda constituency in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.

The West Champaran district administration, however, in a statement circulated by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, dismissed the allegations.

It clarified, “It is a draft electoral roll that has been published by the EC on August 1 and not the final voters’ list. The very purpose of draft rolls is to invite claims and objections with regard to duplications or any other discrepancies.”

The administration further said, “Moreover, in the press conference, the figure of more than 5,000 doubtful voters has been bandied about without any further details or evidence. It seems to be an imaginary figure which does not lend itself to verification.”

Explaining possible duplications, the statement added, “Many times, in Valmiki Nagar, because a change in the course of rivers, people get forced to change their address, and this results in one person registered at more than one place. The special intensive revision is aimed at removing such discrepancies.”

On the specific case raised by the INDIA bloc leaders, it clarified that the voter in question, Chhedi Ram of Khadda, had indeed been included in the draft electoral rolls but “he has already moved an application for deletion of his name” from the Uttar Pradesh constituency.