UP CEO rejects voter deletion forms with 26 'Nand Lal' signatures; BLO booked

Lucknow, Oct 26 (PTI): Taking cognisance of complaints lodged by the Samajwadi Party, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh informed on Monday that the Form-7 applications intended for the removal of names from the current voters' list, which contained the signatures of 26 individuals named Nand Lal, have not been accepted.

Additionally, a case has been registered against the concerned Booth Level Officer (BLO) related to this matter.

In a statement issued here on Monday, the CEO's office said, "A report has been obtained from the District Election Officer, Sultanpur, regarding the allegations made by the Samajwadi Party during a press conference on October 15 regarding a conspiracy to get a voter's name removed by submitting 'Form-7' with a forged signature of Nand Lal."

According to the report, Form-7 applications signed by someone identified as Nand Lal were submitted to the Booth Level Officer at Booth No. 96 of the Sadar assembly constituency in Sultanpur, requesting the deletion of 26 individuals from the electoral roll.

These Form-7 applications were deemed incomplete as they lacked essential information such as the applicant's name, Voter ID number, and mobile number. Consequently, the BLO did not take any further action on them.

However, the BLO's acceptance of these incomplete forms without verifying the identity of the applicant is considered negligence in fulfilling election-related duties. As a result, the BLO has been relieved of all election-related responsibilities, the statement said.

A case has also been filed against the concerned BLO at the Gosaiganj police station on October 24 under various sections of the law, according to the statement.

In a post on X in Hindi, Uttar Pradesh CEO Navdeep Rinwa said, "The names of multiple voters and their relatives (father/husband/wife/legal guardian) may be the same in the same assembly constituency or in different constituencies. Entries cannot be considered duplicate entries merely on the basis of similarity in names. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is continuously working to identify, verify, and remove actual duplicate entries by following the due legal process." PTI NAV MPL

MPL

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