UP voter roll revision hits BJP bastions harder than muslim belts

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttar Pradesh has dealt a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party. While 2.04 crore names have been removed from the state's electoral rolls, a closer look at the data shows significantly higher revisions in BJP bastions compared to Muslim-dominated areas.

Moreover, the state's overall voter base has shrunk by 13.24 per cent, the second-highest rate of voter deletions after Gujarat.

Interestingly, the final SIR data reflects Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s earlier claim that a disproportionate number of BJP supporters’ votes would be struck off during the revision.

Lucknow recorded the highest voter deletions in the state, with its electorate shrinking by around 23 per cent. Ghaziabad, with a decline of over 20 per cent in its electorate, came second. Kanpur, Noida and Meerut saw reductions of roughly 18–19 per cent each.
In terms of absolute numbers, the districts with the most deletions were Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Agra and Ghaziabad.

In contrast, districts with significant Muslim populations recorded far fewer deletions. In Bijnor, Moradabad, and Saharanpur districts, the reduction hovered around 10 to 12 per cent, which was well below the state average of 13.24 per cent.

Muzaffarnagar district, where Muslims constitute nearly 40 per cent of the population, also recorded voter deletions significantly lower than the state average.

Overall, voter deletions in BJP-dominated areas averaged over 20 per cent, compared to 10 to 12 per cent in Muslim-dominated districts.

While the BJP has been the strongest proponent of revising electoral rolls across the country, the data from UP could spur the saffron party to rethink its electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

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