New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday strongly criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of electoral rolls, alleging that it is being used as a political tool to influence election outcomes, and vowing to resist the exercise across Uttar Pradesh.
On SIR, Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh told IANS, “They are trying to adopt an unsuccessful method to win elections through SIR. Earlier in Bihar, since people were not fully aware and SIR was being implemented for the first time, many could not understand their tactics, which allowed them to succeed there. However, in Uttar Pradesh, we will not let them succeed and will stop them at every booth.”
The Samajwadi Party leader also said that preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections were a key focus of the party’s internal discussions.
“The main agenda is to discuss the strategy for the upcoming 2027 elections and how the government will be cornered during the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament. A meeting will be held on both issues, during which senior leaders will provide guidance,” Singh said.
Earlier this month, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav had launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission and the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the draft of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise was being used as a “conspiracy” to selectively remove votes of certain communities while benefiting the ruling party.
Addressing reporters, Yadav said no political party had initially opposed the SIR exercise. However, concerns deepened after the draft list was released.
“As feared, nearly three crore votes have been cut. Earlier, before the draft even came out, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had claimed that four crore votes would be deleted. When no one had any data, how did the chief minister know this?” Yadav asked, questioning the credibility of the Election Commission if BJP leaders continued to make such claims.
–IANS
rs/sd/
