Overview
- Officials found unusual Hindi entries in voter lists prepared for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council polls and have confirmed 158 problematic records out of about 14.81 lakh registrations.
- The CEO’s office said an in‑house transliteration tool sometimes translated mistyped English inputs into literal Hindi sentences rather than converting script, producing entries like “Ram ne Yadav ko Maara.”
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa posted a sarcastic remark on X about the error and shared an example slip, prompting sharp criticism from AAP and Congress leaders who demanded inquiries and questioned the office’s impartiality.
- The Election Commission confirmed the software was built in‑house for the MLC contest and officials say editing and verification features exist while investigators look into causes and corrective steps.
- Authorities warned that forged voter slips are circulating online, reminded polling officers can verify identity to prevent disenfranchisement, and acknowledged the incident raises broader concerns about transliteration risks and administrative safeguards ahead of counting.