Addressing the INDIA bloc’s Vote Chori rally in Delhi, Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of politicising voter deletions and challenged its claims of electoral strength in Uttar Pradesh.
BY PC Bureau
November 1: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of preparing the ground for the BJP’s defeat in the 2027 Assembly elections by raising the issue of 1.27 crore missing Hindu voters from the state’s electoral rolls.
Addressing the INDIA bloc’s Vote Chori rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, Yadav questioned the source and timing of Adityanath’s claim, suggesting that the figure was being used to create an alibi for an electoral setback. He also turned the Chief Minister’s allegation into a political challenge, arguing that it amounted to an admission that the BJP expected a substantial decline in its traditional support.
Yadav said the figure was not some casual information picked up by the Chief Minister but appeared to have been calculated in proportion to the BJP’s declining support in the recent Legislative Council elections.
“The Chief Minister of UP is saying that the names of 1.27 crore Hindus have been removed from Uttar Pradesh’s voter list. In reality, the way the BJP’s traditional votes have declined in the MLC elections, this is a big figure calculated in exactly that proportion,” he said.
He argued that Adityanath was effectively acknowledging in advance that the BJP could lose around 1.27 crore votes and was laying the groundwork to explain the reasons for its defeat.
“This means he has already accepted that around 1.27 crore of their votes are going to drop, and that’s why he’s laying the groundwork in advance to prove the reasons for defeat,” Yadav said.
READ: A Riot of Colours, Turbans and Tribal Traditions: India’s Diversity on Display at Ramlila Maidan
Questions source of voter-deletion figures
Yadav questioned how the Chief Minister had obtained the figures, suggesting that if the information had come from the Election Commission, Adityanath should also join the opposition in demanding accountability.
“If this figure has leaked from the Election Commission, then tomorrow the UP Chief Minister should also come to Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan and demand the removal of ‘someone’,” he remarked.
Akhilesh also used the figure to illustrate the scale of the alleged electoral setback. Dividing 1.27 crore by the 403 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, he calculated that it would amount to roughly 31,500 votes per constituency.
VIDEO | Delhi: After arriving for INDIA bloc’s rally, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) says, “Limits of injustice have been crossed. Now, even the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has himself admitted that 1.27 crore votes have been reduced. And when did he remember this? Only after he lost the MLC election. Those who used to talk about a “double-engine government” have now become “double zero.” And not only did they become double zero, but they also refused to accept the defeat even once. They approached the Election Commission and got the counting done again. So just imagine: a double-engine government, double zero, and a double defeat in the same election. And after all this, what are they claiming? That 1.27 crore votes belonging to Hindus are missing. Where did they learn this? Who provided them with this data? This is not some data that can be casually picked up from the streets or handed over by just anyone. If a minister is making such a statement—and that too in Uttar Pradesh, the state from which the Prime Minister comes—then when is he making it? After someone has gone there and returned. So, who is being accused here? If 1.70 crore votes are missing, then what is the government accusing others of? It is also claiming that lakhs of beneficiaries do not have their names on the voter list. That means those people should also come to Ramlila Ground, because this is a movement against injustice and false promises.”
#ChaloDilli #VoteBachaoDeshBachao #RamLilaGround
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 1, 2026
Yadav said the Chief Minister appeared to have conceded defeat even before the electoral contest had begun and was trying to ensure that responsibility for the BJP’s eventual performance did not fall on him.
He further questioned why the figure had surfaced immediately after the BJP’s setback in the MLC elections and around the time of the latest political developments in Uttar Pradesh. He hinted at a possible political tussle between the state and central leadership, referring cryptically to a transfer order and someone being sent back.
‘Who pocketed money meant for 55 lakh beneficiaries?’
Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the Chief Minister’s claim that the names of around 55 lakh government scheme beneficiaries were missing from the electoral rolls.
“If the names of 55 lakh beneficiaries are missing from the voter list, then who was pocketing their money? Who was eating it up?” he asked.
Akhilesh described the issue as a potential major scam under BJP rule, arguing that the existence of a double-engine government — with the same party in power at the Centre and in the state — raised questions about accountability at both levels.
Yadav said Adityanath’s allegations had effectively put the two governments at odds, as the claim of large-scale voter deletions also raised questions about the functioning of the institutions under the Centre.
He also referred to the Chief Minister’s statement about the names of lakhs of young people being missing from the rolls, interpreting it as an admission that the BJP was losing the support of Uttar Pradesh’s youth.
‘BJP has become the Losing People’s Party’
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that Adityanath was attempting to construct a narrative in which the BJP’s possible defeat in 2027 could be blamed on electoral irregularities and a conspiracy originating in Delhi.
He argued that such a defence was particularly contradictory because the BJP itself governs both Uttar Pradesh and the Centre, and allegations about irregularities in electoral rolls would therefore raise questions about the party’s own administration.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party has now become the ‘Losing People’s Party’,” he said.
Yadav also questioned why Adityanath had chosen to make the disclosure just a day before the INDIA bloc’s Delhi Chalo rally, organised under the slogan Save Votes, Save Nation.
“The biggest mega-question is why the Chief Minister chose to make this revelation exactly one day before the ‘Delhi Chalo’: Save Votes-Save Nation mega-rally… something’s definitely fishy,” he said.
BJP’s voter-list claims become political flashpoint
The controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has emerged as a major political issue in Uttar Pradesh. The revision has led to a substantial reduction in the state’s electorate, with reports indicating that more than two crore names were removed and the final voter count stood at around 13.4 crore.
The SP had earlier raised concerns that deletions could disproportionately affect its PDA constituency, comprising backward classes, Dalits and minorities. The BJP, meanwhile, has highlighted the alleged disappearance of Hindu voters and government scheme beneficiaries from the rolls.
The INDIA bloc has made alleged voter deletions a central theme of its campaign, accusing the Election Commission of failing to adequately protect eligible voters. The opposition has demanded greater transparency in the revision process and accountability for wrongful exclusions.
With the 2027 Assembly elections approaching, Yadav’s attack seeks to turn the Chief Minister’s own figures into a political liability for the BJP, while raising questions about the source of the data, the functioning of the double-engine government and the party’s confidence in its electoral prospects.
