BJP plans to coordinate with EC to weed out ‘illegal immigrants' from UP voter roll
2
Lucknow: Amid the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar, the UP BJP plans to coordinate closely with the
Election Commission of India
to weed out 'illegal' immigrants, if any, from the voter list in the run-up to the 2027 assembly elections.
BJP sources said that party functionaries have been asked to identify 'illegal' immigrants—primarily Rohingyas and Bangladeshis—residing in the state and to inform the poll panel immediately about it.
While there is no specific data readily available on the presence of Rohingya and Bangladeshi population in Uttar Pradesh, it is known that some Rohingya refugees have settled in parts of India. The situation in Uttar Pradesh is said to mirror the broader trends of Rohingya presence in India, which includes undocumented individuals living in slums and engaged in menial and odd jobs, especially in a host of prominent municipal towns of the state.
Sources said that a blueprint of the scheduled exercise was laid down during a recent organisational meeting of the BJP in Lucknow. All senior party leaders, including CM Yogi Adityanath, UP BJP Chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, and regional and district presidents, were present at the meeting.
"The election commission gives necessary instructions regarding voter list revision from time to time. The ECI will do it accordingly as per rules and laid down procedures.
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We can only help the commission by alerting it about the residents living in the state illegally," maintained a senior state BJP leader, wishing anonymity. The party leadership has also pitched for adding at least 15,000 voters in each assembly constituency.
"The idea is to ensure the purity of the voter list. The party would do its duty by coordinating with the ECI whenever the voter list revision takes place in the state," said UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai.
Another BJP leader pointed out that the voter list revision will be done with utmost caution. He highlighted the ECI's assurance to the Supreme Court—in connection with SIR in Bihar—that no eligible voter will be removed from the electoral rolls without prior notice.
In an affidavit filed on Saturday, the poll body said it was taking "all possible steps" to include every eligible voter in the final list during the ongoing SIR.
As a matter of fact, the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have come under the radar of the UP govt after the dastardly terror attack on Pahalgam. The state govt launched a statewide crackdown by collecting details of residents with doubtful credentials but thriving in different clusters across the state. According to reports, in the Varanasi zone alone, around 300 individuals were flagged by the police.
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