UP: SIR jitters grip BJP as nearly 4 crore names could be removed

Yogi claims 85% to 90% of names at risk are BJP supporters

- BISWAJEET BANERJEE

The BJP’s confidence over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has turned into anxiety in Uttar Pradesh, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath publicly flagging the risk of large-scale deletion of party supporters’ names.

Yogi's intervention came on the same day Pankaj Chaudhary was formally appointed as the new BJP state president, a development that has added a political subtext to the unfolding crisis.

Party leaders acknowledge that nearly 15 to 20 per cent of SIR forms are yet to be submitted, even as only about ten days remain before the extended deadline. Yogi has directed BJP workers, legislators and ministers to operate on a war footing to ensure maximum submission of forms, warning that failure could prove costly in the 2027 Assembly elections.