Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara, S/o Murkh Chand Yadav. Ram Ne Sharma Ko Mara, S/o B.Com.
A number of entries in the Uttar Pradesh voter list for the legislative council elections read like a comic script. As the outrage and criticism mounted over the bizarre names, the UP administration has accepted goof-ups in at least 158 entries and has issued a clarification.
Lost In Translation: UP Poll Officer Blames Bizarre Voter Names On Software
An explanation has been sought from Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates. The software was intended to execute ‘transliteration’ (converting the script from English to Hindi), but in some instances, it instead ‘translated’ the names literally(converting the meaning of the words). Similar errors were observed in other entries. Meanwhile, the appearance of ‘B.Com’ in the field designated for a father’s name has been attributed to human error or negligence. The Divisional Commissioner serves as the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), while the District Magistrate of the respective district acts as the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) for the electoral rolls. It is their responsibility to ensure the electoral roll is free of errors. The administration has sought an explanation from the concerned officials regarding this matter.
As a result, 158 out of 1,481,310 entries contained unusual or incorrect names for voters or their relatives. The administration noted that a mechanism existed to edit and correct such errors; however, due to a lack of due diligence at the relevant levels, some mistakes remained in the electoral roll. Furthermore, the UP CEO’s office has clarified that necessary instructions have been issued to the District Magistrates to ensure that no voter faces any inconvenience due to these errors.
Read | Glitches In Over 10,000 Voter Entries In UP Seat, 2 Poll Officials Suspended The controversy comes on the back of claims by the Congress and SP alleging discrepancies in the voter list for the Pilibhit Sadar constituency. The Opposition parties alleged that 13,150 voters in the Pilibhit Sadar constituency had identical EPIC numbers despite having different names and fathers’ names. The Uttar Pradesh election authorities have ordered legal action against two serving and former electoral registration officers and the dismissal of a computer assistant after finding irregularities in 10,470 voter entries in the Pilibhit Assembly constituency, officials said on Thursday.
The UP CEO’s office has blamed the “errors” on the software translation, which was supposed to be transliteration. A technical error occurred during the process of converting names – originally typed in English – into Hindi, following the introduction of an online registration facility, according to the administration. For example, if ‘Ramhit Yadav’ was inadvertently typed as ‘Ram hit Yadav’, the software interpreted it as “Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara” (translating the word ‘hit’).
According to a statement issued by Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa’s office in Lucknow, a detailed inquiry found that a computer assistant at the Voter Registration Centre entered 13,779 Form-8 applications for changes in voter details between May 31 and August 29, 2026. Of these, 10,470 were approved, and 3,309 were rejected.
No application forms or supporting records related to these entries were found available in the office, the statement said. (With Inputs From Vivek Shahi)
