Lucknow, April 10 Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the BJP of "hiding behind institutions" when it faces electoral challenges, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav's remarks came during an interaction with reporters in Lucknow shortly after the state election authorities announced the final voter list.
"Based on the voter list that has been released, one can assume that when the BJP starts losing on issues, it resorts to fighting elections by hiding behind institutions," Yadav said.
He alleged that institutions such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Income Tax Department have already been "exposed," and now the BJP is contesting elections "in collusion with the Election Commission."
The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh also claimed that the by-elections in the state witnessed "loot and dacoity," adding that stronger words could be used to describe the situation.
Yadav further alleged discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, claiming that voter deletions were carried out using forged documents.
Citing an example, he said a voter named Nandlal had his name removed from the electoral roll using "fake signatures," despite being unable to write.
"BJP workers forged his signature, and the Election Commission is not taking any action. If no action is being taken, it shows that the Election Commission is supporting them," he alleged.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the SIR exercise was conducted from October 27, 2025, to April 10, 2026, covering all 75 districts and 403 Assembly constituencies, culminating in the publication of the final electoral roll.
He said the final list showed an increase of over 84 lakh voters from the draft list released on January 6, taking the total electorate to 13.39 crore.