‘No affidavits received alleging wrongful deletion in 2022 polls’: UP CEO on Akhilesh Yadav’s 18,000 affidavits claim

LUCKNOW(Uttar Pradesh) : District Election Officers in Uttar Pradesh have not received the 18,000 affidavits alleging wrongful deletion of voters’ names before the 2022 Assembly elections, said UP Chief Electoral Officer.

Replying to Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav’s claim of sending 18,000 affidavits, the CEO said that their office has also not received any affidavit in its original form regarding this matter as of September 4 (Thursday).

Sharing an X post, UP CEO wrote, “It is to be informed regarding the matter of 18 thousand affidavits that this issue pertains to the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh. Upon inquiry with District Election Officers, it has been found that, as of 4 September 2025, not a single affidavit out of the so-called 18 thousand affidavits related to complaints about the wrongful deletion of a large number of voters’ names before the 2022 Legislative Assembly elections has been received in its original form by the District Election Officers of the concerned 33 districts or the Electoral Registration Officers of the concerned 74 assembly constituencies.”

The State Election Commission assured the citizens that the poll body would investigate the matter if any affidavit is received in the future.

“The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh has also not received any affidavit in its original form regarding this matter as of 4 September 2025. As soon as the original affidavits related to this complaint are received, a thorough investigation will be promptly conducted, effective action will be taken, and the general public will be informed,” the X post said.

Akhilesh Yadav shared a media report on X, claiming the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in correcting errors in voter lists.

“When the Jugaad Commission can catch its own scam of 1.25 crore with AI, then why not address the remaining 17,986 affidavits out of the 18,000 given by us after responding to only 14 affidavits?” the SP chief wrote.

In a reply, the UP CEO clarified the difference between the roles and duties of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the State Election Commission.

UP CEO wrote on X, “The news about identifying and correcting errors in voter lists through AI, i.e., Artificial Intelligence, was published in Uttar Pradesh newspapers in recent days, citing the State Election Commission of Uttar Pradesh. The State Election Commission of Uttar Pradesh is responsible for preparing voter lists related to elections of Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies located in Uttar Pradesh and conducting their elections.”

“In contrast, the Election Commission of India is tasked with preparing and maintaining voter lists related to elections for the Lok Sabha, Legislative Assembly, and Legislative Council, as well as conducting elections for these houses. Often, there is a lack of clarity among the general public and even in the media regarding this distinction, and people are unaware of the differences in the functions of these two commissions,” the X post read.

The social media post said that the reports regarding the correction in voter lists using AI is not related to the ECI.

“Even among government officials and employees, there is frequently a lack of awareness about this distinction. This opportunity is being utilised to highlight this difference. The news about purifying voter lists using AI is not related to the Election Commission of India,” UP CEO wrote.

This came after some media reports claimed the deletion of 1.25 crore names from the electoral roll in UP using AI. (ANI)