Congress Alleges BJP Linked ‘Vote Theft’ Targeting Muslim Voters in Uttarakhand
Congress says BJP linked individuals filed thousands of voter deletion objections during the electoral roll revision, while the BJP denies any religious bias.
The Congress has accused the BJP of deliberately targeting Muslim voters during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand ahead of the state assembly elections.
The party has described the exercise as “vote theft” and alleged that it could result in Muslims being excluded from the electoral process.
The allegations follow a NewsLaundry report published on August 21. The report examined voter deletion requests in five Uttarakhand constituencies and found that the five people who submitted the largest number of objections had links to the BJP.
According to the report, the individuals filed between 230 and 4,855 objections. In four of the five constituencies studied, all the voters whose names were proposed for deletion were Muslim.
In Kichha constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district, BJP booth level agent Rajesh Tiwari reportedly submitted 4,855 of the 4,857 objections recorded there. Most of the applications cited alleged duplicate registration in another location.
In Gadarpur, BJP functionary Chankit Horiya filed 670 of the 1,370 objections. All of the names in his applications reportedly belonged to Muslim voters. Horiya said he was identifying people who were registered as voters in both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Comparable patterns were reported in Khatima, Nanakmatta and Rudrapur. The individuals involved included BJP district vice president Amit Kumar Pandey, BJP booth level agent Kishore Joshi and BJP linked worker Suni Paswan. Their objections also involved substantial numbers of Muslim electors.
The report also raised questions about the number of objections that booth level agents are permitted to submit. Election Commission guidelines had previously limited such agents to 10 applications a day. The limit was later increased to 50 in some states, while restrictions were reportedly removed in certain circumstances.
The BJP has rejected the allegations of religious targeting. Party spokesperson Vinod Chamoli said the objections were based on evidence suggesting wrongful or duplicate voter registrations and were not motivated by the religion of the voters involved.
Election officials have also stressed that an objection does not automatically lead to deletion from the electoral roll.
The Electoral Registration Officer in Kichha said applications are subject to field verification, legal notice and an opportunity for the affected voter to appear for a hearing before any decision is taken.
The controversy comes as the electoral roll revision continues in Uttarakhand. The available information confirms that the objections were filed and records the competing claims made by the Congress and BJP. However, it does not establish that the voters named in the objections were actually ineligible to remain on the electoral rolls.