Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa
Lucknow: Chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa on Thursday said that fewer than 150 voters out of 14.81 lakh registered electors in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council’s Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies were found to have incorrectly printed names or parental details in the electoral rolls, accounting for less than 0.01% of the total electorate. Rinwa said Election Commission ’s instructions issued on Sept 5, 2016, had envisaged online registration facilities for eligible electors. The online portal was launched on Oct 1, 2025, allowing applicants to file registration forms from their homes. Based on the qualifying date of Nov 1, 2025, a total of 3,43,355 applications were received online, including 2,91,273 from Graduates’ constituency voters and 52,082 from Teachers’ constituency voters. The final electoral rolls were published online on Jan 6, 2026, and uploaded on the websites of district election officers. After disposal of pending applications before the election schedule was announced, the electorate across the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies stood at 14,81,310 voters.
Speaking to TOI, Rinwa said that since Friday is polling day and the entire election machinery will be engaged in conducting the polls, it would take at least two to three days to ascertain how such names entered the electoral rolls. Rinwa said the new arrangement had improved transparency, as supplementary rolls were not available online earlier, making it difficult for voters and political parties to monitor changes. In line with this, the election office developed a dedicated online platform within four months with technical support from its IT team. Thereafter, applications for additions, deletions and corrections were processed every month through supplementary electoral rolls, which were also uploaded online and shared with recognised political parties.