The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer’s office rejected 26 Form-7 applications in Sultanpur’s Sadar Assembly constituency on Monday, citing forged identities and missing data. The forms, submitted at Booth No. 96, sought to remove specific voter names but bore signatures attributed to an individual named Nand Lal. Crucially, the applications lacked essential details like the applicant’s name, Voter ID number, and mobile number, rendering them invalid under election law.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) alleged a coordinated conspiracy to purge voters from the roll, pointing to the press conference held on October 15 where these anomalies were first highlighted. The CEO’s report confirms that while the BLO failed to process the deletions due to the incomplete information, the official did accept the forms without verifying the applicant’s identity. This negligence formed the basis for the disciplinary action taken against the Booth Level Officer.
Consequences followed swiftly. The BLO was removed from all election-related duties, and a case was registered at Gosaiganj police station on October 24 under various sections of the law. Navdeep Rinwa, the UP CEO, clarified on X that shared names alone do not constitute duplicate entries, emphasizing that the Election Commission of India follows a strict legal process to verify and remove only actual duplicates.
The rejection of these forms preserves the electoral roll integrity in a constituency where margin of victory can hinge on a single vote. With the BLO now facing legal action, the focus shifts to whether the SP will pursue further complaints regarding the individuals who submitted the defective forms. The Election Commission continues to monitor the electoral rolls in Sultanpur to ensure no unauthorized deletions occur ahead of future polls.