Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Uttar Pradesh CEO Rejects Allegations Over 16.18 Lakh Voter Forms
Uttar Pradesh is updating its voter list.
A report questioned why details of 16.18 lakh voter-addition forms were not available online.
Congress used the report to accuse the government and election officials of unfairly changing voter lists.
The state’s Chief Electoral Officer denied the allegations.
He said election workers collected the forms during home visits for eligible people whose names were missing from the old list.
The visits took place from October 27, 2025, to January 6, 2026.
The CEO said the rules required certain forms to be published only if they were submitted after the draft list came out.
The report also questioned the high approval rate for applications, but the CEO said there is no target percentage.
The two sides therefore disagree about whether the process and publication of information were proper.
The Reporters’ Collective questioned the lack of publicly available details for 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications collected during Uttar Pradesh’s Special Intensive Revision.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited the report to allege voter-list manipulation, including mass deletions and suspicious additions; the CEO denied the allegations.
The CEO said booth-level officers collected the forms in house-to-house visits from October 27, 2025, to January 6, 2026, for eligible people missing from the existing rolls.
The CEO said only Form-6 applications received after the January 6 draft-roll publication were required to appear in Form-9 claims lists, which were displayed online.
The report cited a 96.27% approval rate, while the CEO said there is no required acceptance percentage and applications are assessed under prescribed procedures.
- Who
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, The Reporters’ Collective and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
- What
- A dispute over alleged irregularities and disclosure of 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications collected during the Special Intensive Revision.
- When
- The collection period was October 27, 2025, to January 6, 2026; the draft electoral roll was published on January 6, 2026.
- Where
- Uttar Pradesh, India.
- Why
- The report questioned the availability of application details and cited a high approval rate; the CEO disputed its interpretation and said the process followed electoral rules.
Report and Congress allegations
Uttar Pradesh CEO response
Disclosure of application details
Report and Congress allegations
The Reporters’ Collective said details of the 16.18 lakh applications were not on the CEO’s website, limiting public scrutiny of applicants, constituencies and eligibility. Jairam Ramesh alleged that the details were not made public.
Uttar Pradesh CEO response
The CEO said only Form-6 applications received after publication of the draft roll were required to be included in Form-9 claims lists, which were displayed on the CEO’s website.
Whether additions were suspicious
Report and Congress allegations
The report questioned the voter additions, and Ramesh described them as suspicious and part of alleged voter-list manipulation.
Uttar Pradesh CEO response
The CEO said the forms were gathered during scheduled visits for eligible citizens missing from the existing rolls, and called the allegations based on faulty assumptions.
Application approval rate
Report and Congress allegations
The report cited a 96.27% approval rate, contrasting it with lower rates in other states and raising questions about the figure.
Uttar Pradesh CEO response
The CEO said there is no fixed formula or required percentage for acceptance and that each Form-6 application is assessed under prescribed procedures.
- Applications at issue
- 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications
- Collection period
- October 27, 2025, to January 6, 2026
- Collection method
- House-to-house visits by booth-level officers during the enumeration phase
- Draft roll publication
- January 6, 2026
- Approval rate cited by the report
- 96.27%
- CEO’s explanation
- The forms were collected for eligible people whose names were not on the electoral roll when the revision began.
- Rules cited by the CEO
- Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Registration of Electors Rules, 1960
