"Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara" and "Mohammad Pagal Rehan" Appear as Voter Names in Uttar Pradesh: Chief Electoral Officer Issues Statement After Controversial Data Sparks Concerns of Voter List Irregularities

INSTANCES OF IRREGULAR NAMES in the voters list of the Pilibhit Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh has prompted the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to order legal action against the officials responsible for such discrepancies on Wednesday, October 23, 2026. In this constituency, searching one’s details using the EPIC number showcased the details of other electors, raising serious concerns.

Social media was flooded with the news of such irregularities, alongside the dedicated opposition from the Congress party, who alleged that such discrepancies affected more than 13,000 voters. 

Following this, an official directive was issued by the Office of the CEO Uttar Pradesh to undertake legal action against the responsible officials. The District officer in Pilibhit has also received a detailed report regarding the irregularities in data.

See Also: Can the Election Commission Block Any State's Access to Voter Data via ECINET? Digital Audit Reveals EROs and AEROs from West Bengal Restricted from Accessing Enumeration Forms, Notice and Hearing Details

However, such discrepancies are not exclusive to Pilibhit. Instances of irregular names have also been reported across social media platforms with sufficient evidence that raise serious concerns. Names such as “Takkar Marna” (To collide), “B.com” are some of the names that have come up in the voter list for Allahabad-Jhansi Graduate Constituency’s Member of legislative council (MLC) election.

What Was the Discrepancy in the Pilibhit Constituency?

In the Pilibhit Assembly constituency there has been a major misplacement of voter details. While searching for details using one's EPIC number, different names would appear on screen. Subsequently a detailed investigation report was received by the District Election Officer of Pilibhit on the discrepancies, which was published by news outlet The Hindu.

The report states that a total of 13,779 form-8s were registered between May 31, 2026, and August 29, 2026. Of these, 4,717 forms were entered by July 16, 2026, and the remaining 9,062 forms were entered between July 17, 2026 and August 29, 2026.  No Form-8s corresponding to any of these entries were found in the office records. A total of 10,470 Form-8s were approved, while 3,309 were rejected. According to the Uttar Pradesh CEO, it were these 10,470 forms that were filled with discrepancies. 

According to the official statement by the CEO Uttar Pradesh, the computer operator at the voter registration centre in 127-Pilibhit, and the election registration officers (EROs) are held responsible for the irregularities, and legal action under section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and other appropriate sections of the penal code are to be initiated against them.

The opposition parties in the state, Congress and Samajwadi Party have lodged their complaints regarding such irregularities in the voter list across Uttar Pradesh.
Taking to X, Congress Leader Supriya Shrinate wrote, “Between July and September, the Election Commission deleted and added a large number of votes - neither Form-6 nor Form-7 was in operation at that time. But the biggest rigging was something else. The EPIC numbers of 13,150 people were kept the same, but their names were changed.”

See Also: Is Nirmala Sitharaman’s Husband a Staunch Modi Hater? Why Parakala Prabhakar Called the SIR Exercise “Bloodless Political Genocide”

This has an alarming implication. If a person has an irregular detail associated with their EPIC number, one is not permitted to vote on the polling day. 

Samajwadi Party State President Shyam Lal Pal also submitted a written complaint to the CEO regarding the discrepancies in the Pilibhit constituency earlier this week, on Monday, October 19, 2026.

Irregular Names in the Voter List for Other Constituencies in Uttar Pradesh

Irregularities of names have also appeared in the voter list for the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduate constituency ahead of the MLC election. Names such as “Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara” (Ram hit Yadav), “Takkar Marna” (To Collide), “B.com”, “Mohammad Pagal Rehan” (Mohammad-Crazy Rehan) and “Ram Ne Sharma Ko Mara,” (Ram hit Sharma) among others have appeared in the list. 

These instances were responded to by the CEO Uttar Pradesh in an X post. It responded by stating that there can be errors in a task, especially when it is the first attempt.

“The oddity of these names is a mistake of this kind. The names typed in English by the software were supposed to be transliterated into Hindi, but due to some error, they were translated instead. For example, if a voter's name is Ramhit Yadav, and by mistake, instead of typing Ramhit Yadav in English, Ram hit Yadav was typed, then the software translated it as ‘Ram ne Yadav ko maara’ (Ram hit Yadav),” the post on X read.

At a time when the entire country is enraged in the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, these discrepancies point towards the potential mishaps that could form a part of the polling process, impacting the voting rights of a major part of Uttar Pradesh’s populace. 

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

(Rh/AR/HP)

Suggested Reading: