Akhilesh Yadav proposes Aadhaar-linked voter lists in India

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has called for linking electoral rolls with Aadhaar and implementing biometric verification at polling booths to prevent election rigging and irregularities. Speaking at a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav accused the central government and the Election Commission of India of allowing voter lists to be tampered with, which he claims weakens democracy.

Yadav specifically alleged the existence of duplicate entries in electoral rolls, claiming that the same names appear multiple times. He cited an unverified example of over 2,000 entries under the name ‘Sunita, wife of Rajesh’ across Uttar Pradesh. He argued that modern technology could be used to investigate these discrepancies and ensure that only eligible citizens are on the rolls.

In a separate political development, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticized the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Owaisi suggested the party should be renamed ‘Samajwadi Yadav Parivar,’ questioning the party's representation of Muslim leaders in constituencies like Azamgarh and Firozabad.