BJP Leads Voter Inclusion Drive in Uttar Pradesh as Claims Period Opens After Massive Roll Revision

Lucknow, January 9, 2026 After the Election Commission of India released the draft electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, political activity around voter enrolment has picked up pace across the state. The publication of the draft list led to the deletion of nearly 28.9 million names, accounting for about 18.7% of the electorate. In response, political parties have mobilised their booth-level agents to help eligible voters get their names added during the claims and objections period, which began on January 6 and will continue until February 6. The exercise is part of the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The focus is mainly on young voters who turned 18 years old on January 1, 2026, voters whose names were removed due to missing or incomplete documents, and those who were marked absent or untraceable during the earlier verification process carried out by booth-level officers. According to data released on Thursday by the office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a clear lead in submitting applications for voter inclusion. The party has filed 1,121 applications so far. In comparison, the Samajwadi Party has submitted 26 applications, while the Bahujan Samaj Party has filed 19, placing them far behind in the early phase of the process. Uttar Pradesh CEO Navdeep Rinwa said that any eligible voter whose name does not appear in the draft roll can apply for inclusion by submitting Form-6 along with a declaration and the required documents. He also clarified that citizens who completed 18 years of age on January 1, 2026, are eligible to apply so their names can be included in the final voter list. Rinwa made these remarks during a meeting with representatives of political parties earlier this week. The Election Commission has allowed booth-level agents appointed by political parties to submit up to 10 forms per day during the claims and objections period. All claims and objections will be examined and verified during the notice and hearing phase, which will continue until February 27. After all applications are resolved, the final electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh will be published on March 6. A senior BJP leader said the party has fully activated its organisational network to ensure that eligible voters are not left out. He said printed copies of the draft electoral rolls have been distributed to workers at the booth level so they can cross-check the names with local residents. Party workers have been asked to work closely with booth-level officers appointed by the Election Commission to identify missing voters and guide them through the enrolment process. The BJP has also set clear targets for its booth-level agents. Each booth has been given a goal of enrolling at least 200 voters whose names are missing from the draft list. Teams from various party fronts and cells have been instructed to carry out door-to-door checks and reach out directly to voters who may have been excluded. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier highlighted the issue of missing voters during a party meeting held in December. Addressing party workers, he reportedly said that a large majority of the deleted names belonged to BJP supporters, urging workers to take the issue seriously and act quickly. On Thursday, BJP state unit president Pankaj Chaudhary also appealed to party workers to focus their efforts on voter enrolment during the ongoing phase of the SIR. He stressed the importance of ensuring that every eligible voter is included in the final list ahead of future elections. With nearly a month remaining before the claims period closes, the voter enrolment drive is expected to intensify further, as political parties race to secure their support base and ensure maximum participation in the democratic process.