Uttar Pradesh minister Ravindra Jaiswal has questioned the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in his Varanasi North constituency, where names of 9,200 voters were found registered at multiple polling booths. He labeled it as 'vote jihad' and demanded an inquiry from the district magistrate. Opposition parties have already been pointing to flaws in the SIR process.
On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Stamp and Court Registration Fees, Ravindra Jaiswal, questioned the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Varanasi North constituency during a media interaction in Varanasi. He alleged that names of several voters were registered at multiple polling booths, with many belonging to a particular community. Jaiswal submitted a list of 9,200 such voters to District Magistrate-cum-District Election Officer Satyendra Kumar and demanded a comprehensive inquiry.
"We physically verified each voter's name before preparing the report and submitting it for inquiry. In the process, we found 9,200 names that are registered at multiple places," Jaiswal said. He explained that party workers verified 90,000 voters, discovering some names listed up to five times. In a social media video, he is heard saying, "I believe that every person in India should have their name on the voter list at only one place. If a name appears at two places, then what is the meaning of the SIR? The purpose of SIR was to conduct a thorough and in-depth verification. Yet, even now, we have found more than 9,200 such names in my assembly constituency alone. Reports from other areas are still awaited."
Jaiswal termed it 'vote jihad,' a controversial remark. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and party workers conducted door-to-door verification, finding the same person's name—linked to father or husband—registered multiple times in various places. This incident raises questions about the credibility of the SIR process, especially as opposition parties have highlighted its alleged flaws.
