Pilibhit: A major political controversy has erupted in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 assembly elections over alleged massive irregularities in the voter list for the Pilibhit Sadar constituency. Following serious allegations of data manipulation raised by the Congress party, the Election Commission has removed the concerned officials from election duties and ordered a comprehensive statewide probe into the electoral rolls.
The issue came to light after Congress leader Kumud Gangwar alleged that the records of 16,554 voters in Pilibhit Sadar had been tampered with. According to Gangwar, the names and fathers’ names of 13,150 voters were altered, even though their EPIC (Voter ID) numbers, age, and gender remained unchanged in the official digital records. The Congress party claimed that all 13,150 affected individuals belong to the Muslim community. Additionally, the party alleged that 804 legitimate names were abruptly deleted from the list, while approximately 2,600 new names were suspiciously added.
The alleged manipulation was first uncovered when a local resident checked his voter ID online using his EPIC number on October 13 and discovered that his demographic details had been completely changed. A video of this discrepancy prompted Gangwar to launch an independent scrutiny. A dedicated team of 53 people reportedly worked for 96 consecutive hours to cross-check the EPIC numbers of all 3,48,937 registered voters across the constituency’s 419 polling booths.
Congress representatives pointed out that the final voter list published earlier this year on April 10 had the correct details, suggesting the unauthorized changes were made between July and September. Highlighting the technical flaws, Gangwar questioned how these modifications occurred without the mandatory OTP verification sent to the voters’ registered mobile numbers. To back their claims, the party presented affidavits from over 600 affected voters who explicitly stated they had never submitted Form-8 for name corrections or Form-7 for deletions.
Taking immediate cognizance of the widespread complaints, the Election Commission has relieved the local operators and related administrative officials from their voter list duties. The poll panel has also mandated a strict verification of voter lists across all districts in Uttar Pradesh to ensure the integrity of the upcoming electoral process and address any administrative loopholes.