New Delhi: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday (October 24) initiated administrative and legal action against nine electoral officials after an internal investigation revealed that the name ‘Vikas Yadav’ had been erroneously recorded across 13 separate places in the electoral rolls of the Azamgarh Assembly constituency.The District Election Officer launched a formal probe after taking cognisance of allegations raised by the Samajwadi Party, which claimed that an individual named Vikas Yadav was listed ten separate times in the voter list of the eastern Uttar Pradesh constituency.At a press conference on October 16, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav showcased a young man named Vikas Yadav from Azamgarh, claiming that ten separate votes had been registered under his name across four different polling locations: Paranapur (four votes), Khudwal (five votes), Hussainganj (two votes) and Kotwa (one vote).The Samajwadi Party chief noted that while the unassuming voter may have submitted an application for a single voter registration, his name ultimately appeared on the electoral rolls in multiple places.“This means that while he will cast one vote, the BJP will cast the other nine,” said the Samajwadi Party chief, alleging a conspiracy by the ruling dispensation to gain undue electoral benefit. “What gift did BJP people, in connivance with the Election Commission, give him? Go, you will have a vote wherever you go.”The Bharatiya Janata Party has never won the Azamgarh Assembly seat, considered a Samajwadi Party stronghold. The party’s senior leader Durga Yadav has held the seat interrupted since 1996, winning six consecutive times (in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022) and three times prior to that in 1986, 1989 and 1991.Addressing the probe’s findings, CEO Navdeep Rinwa said that the name of the voter Vikas Yadav, as cited in the Samajwadi Party’s allegations, was found to be recorded 13 separate times in Hindi across the electoral roll. Formal deletion proceedings have already been executed at two of those places in compliance with the rules, the CEO said.The remaining 11 entries pertain to 11 distinct individuals residing in their respective villages within Azamgarh district. For 10 of these 11 individuals – excluding the actual “Vikas Yadav” – Form-8 entries had already been processed to correct their real names and recorded personal details, added the CEO.Also read: ‘Takkar Marna’ in UP Voter List: SP Flags Errors, BJP Alleges Duplicates On Eve of MLC PollsThe senior official also clarified that one additional entry featuring the same name and father’s name pertained to the Chauri Chaura Assembly constituency in Gorakhpur district, which remains completely distinct from the 13 entries in Azamgarh.The CEO issued instructions for the immediate removal of the Voter Registration Centre’s computer assistant and the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) found guilty in the case from all voter list duties, alongside the immediate termination of their services.Furthermore, Rinwa directed that formal show-cause notices be issued to the computer assistant, the concerned booth-level officers, the then-Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) – all of whom were held responsible for the administrative lapse – prior to initiating statutory proceedings against them under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.Section 32 of the Act penalises any breach of official duty by electoral officials in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls.The CEO also ordered departmental proceedings against the then-ERO and the two AERO for gross negligence in the discharge of their official duties and a complete failure of administrative supervision during the compilation of the electoral roll.The District Election Officer of Azamgarh has been instructed to conduct an audit into the electoral rolls of all Assembly constituencies in Azamgarh district regarding this specific duplication issue and submit a detailed report within one week.This marks the second instance within a week that the election body has enforced punitive measures against administrative officials for severe flaws in the voter lists. On October 22, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against two administrative officials and a computer operator in Pilibhit following a probe that uncovered widespread discrepancies in a constituency’s voter rolls, where online searches for certain voters’ EPIC numbers displayed the personal details of entirely different individuals.A detailed investigation report submitted by the District Election Officer of Pilibhit confirmed that irregularities spanned 10,470 entries in the voter rolls of the Pilibhit Assembly seat alone.Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Election Commission of India on October 24 ordered a re-poll at three polling booths within the Agra Division Teachers’ Legislative Council (MLC) constituency following formal complaints of electoral irregularities.The Samajwadi Party had alleged large-scale booth capturing across the constituency – one of 11 MLC seats (five graduates and six teachers constituencies) where voting took place on Friday. The ECI declared the voting at polling station numbers 20, 21, and 26 of the Agra Division Teachers’ Constituency as completely void.Also read: ‘We Fought for Freedom, Democracy. Where Is Our Vote?’: BSP Leader and Family Hit by UP SIR DeletionsIn a formal memorandum submitted to the UP CEO, the Samajwadi Party alleged that illegal booth capturing took place across several districts, including Amroha, Agra, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh and Gorakhpur. The SP demanded a thorough review of video footage from the affected polling booths and urged the poll body to order fresh voting based on the video evidence and written complaints filed by candidates and political representatives.The party also demanded that FIRs be registered against all individuals implicated in booth capturing.The Samajwadi Party requested a re-poll at multiple locations, including seven booths in Amroha district, five in Agra district and one booth each in Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts.In Agra district, at polling booth number 21, BJP MLA Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha personally engaged in booth capturing, the SP alleged in its memorandum. The party claimed that the MLA physically assaulted the Samajwadi Party’s polling agent, forced them out of the polling station, and, in active collusion with the election staff, orchestrated the casting of fraudulent votes.The party further alleged that at polling booth number 45 in Agra, former state minister Ram Sakal Gurjar alongside the official BJP candidate carried out booth capturing by conspiring with the presiding officer to conduct illegal voting.In another instance, the nephew of BJP candidate Hari Kishore Tiwari allegedly captured polling booth numbers 26, 40, and 70, physically assaulted the party’s polling agents, drove them out of the premises, and seized complete control over all three polling stations, according to the SP’s allegations.The Election Commission has directed the Divisional Commissioner of Agra to fix accountability among the personnel involved, including police officials and polling staff whose lapses led to the vitiation of the poll, and to submit a formal report. The Election Commission mandated that any official found involved in unlawful activities or lapses leading to the re-poll must not be deputed for election duty during the fresh polling.Vikas reportedly submitted a Form 6 to enter the electoral roll around May – after UP’s SIR draft electoral roll was published on January 6. The Election Commission had explicitly said that Form 6 applications would be mapped as part of the SIR process.Omar Rashid is an independent journalist. For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.