Uttar Pradesh CEO Orders Audit of Voter Registration Forms
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa ordered a comprehensive audit of voter registration forms following allegations of large-scale manipulation in Pilibhit.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa ordered a comprehensive audit and scrutiny of all voter registration forms entered by computer assistants since April 10. The directive follows reports of irregularities in Azamgarh and specific allegations from the Uttar Pradesh Congress on October 21, which claimed 13,150 voter names were manipulated in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency while serial numbers remained unchanged.
During a virtual meeting on October 24, Rinwa warned that electoral registration officers and other officials responsible for breaches of duty would face action under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. He expressed particular displeasure with district election officers in Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, and Sitapur for failing to submit timely reports on complaints.
To prevent future errors, new protocols prohibit computer assistants from entering physical applications. Instead, booth-level officers must now digitize these forms using the BLO app. Officials were also instructed to secure ERONET login credentials, remove duplicate entries identified via social media and political party complaints, and resolve pending grievances from the National Grievance Service Portal. These measures aim to ensure the integrity of electoral rolls before the Special Summary Revision draft is published on November 12.
