Unusual names surface in UP voter rolls across 11 constituencies, authorities blame translation

Several discrepancies have surfaced in the electoral rolls for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, with unusual entries found in voters’ names and their fathers’ details, PTI reported on Friday.

Phrases such as “Ram ne Yadav ko maara”, “Ram ne Sharma ko maara”, “Murkh Kaali Devi” and “Takkar Maarna” reportedly appeared in the name fields, while “B.Com” was recorded as a voter’s father’s name. The irregularities were reported in the Allahabad-Jhansi graduates’ constituency.

The issue gained attention after lists highlighting the errors circulated widely on social media, prompting the authorities to respond.

Polling for five graduates’ and six teachers’ constituencies is being held from 8am to 4pm on Friday. More than 14.81 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes at 2,697 polling stations across 72 districts, with 152 candidates contesting the elections.

158 entries with unusual details found: UP CEO

Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa acknowledged the discrepancies on Thursday.

In a post on X, he stated that 158 entries among the 14.81 lakh names listed across the electoral rolls for all 11 constituencies contained “unusual” details.

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According to Rinwa, the errors represented a very small fraction of the total electorate and were largely linked to a software tool introduced for the online preparation of electoral rolls. He clarified that the system translated names instead of transliterating them from English into Hindi.

For example, if the name “Ramhit Yadav” was mistakenly entered as “Ram hit Yadav”, the software could interpret the words as a sentence and convert them into “Ram ne Yadav ko maara”. Although the software provided an editing option to correct such mistakes, some incorrect entries remained in the final electoral rolls.

However, Rinwa indicated that the entry of “B.Com” in place of a father’s name appeared to be a case of human error or negligence.

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Inquiry ordered over discrepancies

Following complaints from political parties and the circulation of lists highlighting the discrepancies on social media, Rinwa reportedly ordered a probe into the matter. The investigation, led by Jhansi divisional commissioner Vimal Kumar Dubey, confirmed errors in the electoral rolls, according to PTI.

This was the first time Uttar Pradesh had prepared electoral rolls for the MLC elections through an entirely digital process. The portal was launched on October 1, 2025, allowing applicants to submit registration forms from their homes.

Developed by the election office’s IT team in approximately four months, the platform supports voter registration, application processing, approval and rejection, duplicate-entry checks, serialisation and downloading of electoral rolls.

In response to the discrepancies, the CEO directed district authorities to ensure that no eligible voter is denied the right to vote because of clerical mistakes or printing errors. Presiding officers were instructed to verify the necessary documents and permit eligible voters to cast their ballots.