What Mayawati said on SIR and ballot voting ahead of UP 2027 elections, triggering political discussion in Uttar Pradesh
Mayawati News: Following SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati in UP has also requested the Election Commission to extend the SIR deadline. Mayawati's reasoning is that BLOs should be able to work comfortably without any pressure and that no one's name is removed from the voter list unnecessarily.
She stated that candidates with criminal backgrounds should take the responsibility of disclosing their records. Concealment should be punished. This responsibility should not be placed on the party. Furthermore, elections should be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs, as there is a constant threat of rigging in elections conducted using EVMs.
Mayawati posted on Twitter, "Election reforms are being discussed in Parliament starting today. The BSP wishes to state that, along with other reforms to the election process, the three specific reforms below are essential. The BSP is not against the SIR system currently in place across the country."
But the BSP argues that the time limit set for filling out the voter list is too short, putting immense pressure on BLOs and that many people have even died due to the workload. BLOs should be given full time in states with millions of voters, especially in states where elections are not due immediately.
SIR deadline should be extended: Mayawati
Mayawati further wrote that Uttar Pradesh has over 154 million voters, and if the SIR process is rushed, many genuine voters, especially those who are poor and have gone out for work, will be excluded from the list. This would deprive such people of the constitutional right to vote, guaranteed by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would be completely wrong. Therefore, instead of rushing to complete the SIR process, appropriate time should be given, meaning the current deadline should be extended.
Furthermore, the Election Commission has also issued directives in accordance with the Supreme Court's order. Those with criminal histories will be required to provide complete details of their criminal history in their affidavits and publish the details in local newspapers. The political party representing the candidate will also be responsible for publishing this information in national newspapers.
Elections should be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs
Mayawati said our party suggests that voting using ballot papers instead of EVMs should be reintroduced to address the frequent complaints of EVM malfunctions during and after elections and to instill complete confidence in the electoral process. If this is not possible for some reason, then at least the slips that fall into the VVPAT box at all polling booths should be counted and compared with the EVM votes.
Mayawati said adding just a few hours to the counting process shouldn't make any difference, as the election process itself lasts for months. This is also important because it will increase public confidence in the electoral process and eliminate many of the doubts that may arise, which will be in the national interest.
Prakash Kumar Pandey