Lucknow, November 2026 : Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of attempting to create fear in society by claiming that the names of 1.27 crore Hindu voters were missing from the state's electoral rolls. Yadav described the Chief Minister's statement as a calculated move and questioned how he had obtained the figures.
Speaking to reporters at the SP office in Lucknow, Yadav said Adityanath appeared to know precisely how many names had been deleted from the electoral rolls. He alleged that the statement was part of a conspiracy intended to influence public sentiment.
"The Chief Minister somehow knows exactly how many votes have been struck off the electoral rolls. I feel his remark is part of a conspiracy. It is very calculated and intended to spread fear in society," Yadav said.
He further alleged that the statement was aimed at provoking emotions for political benefit. Questioning the source of the figures, he asked how the Chief Minister could claim that 1.27 crore Hindu voters had been removed from the rolls and how the Election Commission had provided him with such information.
Yadav, meanwhile, claimed that the names of one crore 'PDA' voters had been deleted. The term PDA, coined by the SP chief, refers to Pichhda (backward classes), Dalits and Alpsankhyak (minorities).
The controversy has also triggered a confrontation between the Samajwadi Party and the Election Commission. On Thursday, the SP approached the poll panel, urging it to issue a notice to Adityanath over his claim regarding the alleged deletion of 1.27 crore Hindu voters' names.
In a memorandum submitted to Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer, SP state president Shyamlal Pal accused the Election Commission of adopting double standards. He alleged that the poll panel sought affidavits from opposition leaders who raised concerns about irregularities in electoral rolls but had not acted on the Chief Minister's statement.
The party questioned why the Election Commission had not issued a notice to Adityanath and demanded that he be asked to submit an affidavit to establish the basis of his claim. According to the memorandum, seeking such a response was necessary to protect the credibility of the poll panel.
The SP also referred to an earlier notice issued by the Election Commission to Akhilesh Yadav on October 27, 2022. The notice followed allegations raised by him about irregularities in the electoral rolls after the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
According to the party's memorandum, the Commission had then sought Yadav's response and maintained that electoral rolls were not prepared on the basis of religion or caste.
The latest exchange has brought the issue of voter-list deletions and the Election Commission's handling of complaints back into the political debate in Uttar Pradesh, with the SP seeking a response from the poll panel over the Chief Minister's remarks.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
