Congress has alleged discrepancies in the voter roll of Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency, claiming that names and other voter details were changed after the final electoral roll was published and announcing plans to seek legal advice and pursue the matter through formal channels.
The allegations were raised at a news conference by Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam, AICC social media chairperson Supriya Shrinate, state president Aradhana Mishra Mona and working president Imran Masood. The party demanded an inquiry into the alleged changes and called on district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates to clarify whether voter records were altered and under what procedure.
Congress leaders said they had identified discrepancies while examining electoral records in Pilibhit. Shrinate alleged that the same Electors Photo Identity Card, or EPIC, number appeared against different names and fathers’ names in voter records. She said such a mismatch could create an identity problem at a polling station and potentially prevent the original voter from exercising their franchise.
“If the EPIC number remains the same but another person’s name is entered against it, the original voter could face an identity mismatch at the polling station and be deprived of the right to vote,” Shrinate said, according to the party’s account of the issue.
The Congress questioned how changes could have been made after the final Special Intensive Revision electoral roll was published on April 10, 2026. The party also sought clarity on who authorised the alleged changes and what administrative procedure was followed. The report did not include a response from the Election Commission, the Pilibhit district administration or the sub-divisional administration to the allegations.
Gautam urged voters to compare their electoral details with their EPIC numbers on the Election Commission’s website. He said protecting democracy was not the responsibility of a single political party but of every citizen, while praising party workers in Pilibhit for examining electoral records and raising the alleged discrepancies.
Congress linked the issue to the importance of accurate electoral databases at the constituency level. Shrinate noted that the BJP MLA from Pilibhit Sadar had won the 2022 assembly election by 6,930 votes and said the alleged discrepancies warranted scrutiny. The party said it would examine whether similar issues existed in other constituencies as well.
Mishra said Congress would seek legal advice and pursue its objections through its organisational network. Masood separately urged citizens to remain vigilant and verify their electoral details. The immediate next steps announced by the party are legal consultation, continued examination of voter records and demands for clarification from the district and sub-divisional authorities.
