A political storm has erupted in Uttar Pradesh over the draft voter list released after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has questioned the credibility of the Election Commission (EC), alleging a deliberate conspiracy to remove the names of voters belonging to the PDA (Backward Classes, Dalits, and Minorities) communities.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav held a press conference in Lucknow. He said, "This is not SIR, it's NRC. The work that was supposed to be done by the Home Department is being done by the Commission. The government is increasing the number of votes by 200 at every booth and is sending officers to do it."

"We will file FIRs at booths where the BJP attempts to create disturbances. All SP BLAs have been given a format for filing FIRs. In case of any disturbance, they simply need to fill in the names and report them at the police station."

When asked if state police do not file FIRS , Yadav said , " We also have the option of going to court."

He stated that a large number of voters' names have been removed under the guise of the Special Intensive Revision, and this has directly impacted the PDA community.

He alleged that this entire process is being carried out with the intention of weakening democracy and harming the opposition's vote bank.

The SP president claimed that the names of millions of voters have been removed from the list in several districts, even though they are alive and residing at the same location.

He said that this situation raises serious questions about the impartiality and transparency of the Election Commission.

The SP chief alleged that even before the draft list was released, the UP Chief Minister had announced that 40 million votes would be cut.

When no one knew how many votes were being cut, the Chief Minister declared to his close associates that 40 million BJP votes were going to be cut.

The former Kannauj MP said that currently, 300,000 votes have been cut in the district, and votes will be cut in two different assembly constituencies.

Yadav alleged that the BJP government is misusing the administrative machinery for electoral gains and is manipulating the voter list by pressuring the Election Commission.

The SP chief said, “There is a significant discrepancy between the lists of the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India. Meerut is a large district. Votes have been deleted on a large scale, and a significant number of votes have also been deleted in Lucknow.”

He added, “Lakhs of votes have disappeared in individual assembly constituencies. According to the draft list, there are 12.56 crore voters in UP but surprisingly there are 12.69 crore rural voters in the Panchayats elections.”

Yadav said, "The district-level handles created by the Election Commission have been outsourced. They want to keep the opposition confused by deleting millions of votes. They can't win with issues, so they are already preparing to influence the elections."

He appealed to SP workers to remain vigilant at the booth level and raise their voices if the name of any eligible voter has been removed.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission says that the Special Intensive Revision is a regular process under which names of deceased, relocated, or duplicate entries have been removed.

The Commission has also clarified that voters whose names have been removed are being given ample opportunity to have their names re-added during the claims and objections period.

Meanwhile, mentioning about the Meerut incident, Yadav said, "BJP members are involved in the incident, so no action is being taken. Daughters and women are the most unsafe in Uttar Pradesh. Statistics cannot be false.

"The highest number of incidents are taking place in Uttar Pradesh.SP MP Ramji Lal Suman wanted to go, but he was not allowed to. What is the government hiding?"