U.P. Chief Electoral Officer apologises for ‘tone, language and sharpness’ of social media posts

U.P. Chief Electoral Officer apologises for ‘tone, language and sharpness’ of social media posts left Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh Navdeep Rinwa. File PTI PTI Nand Kumar Singh Lucknow: Chief Electoral Officer of UttarPradesh Navdeep Rinwa addresses a press conference regarding release of the draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh after a special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, in Lucknow, Tuesday, Jan.

6, 2026. (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar)(PTI01_06_2026_000202A) When AAP leader Sanjay Singh questioned CEC Gyanesh Kumar on how ‘Ramhit Yadav’ became ‘Ram ne Yadav ko Maara’ in the U.P. Legislative Council election voter list, the Chief Electoral Officer admitted his responses had not been ‘the kind of communication expected from an official handle’ New Delhi The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday (October 27, 2026) apologised over the “tone” and tenor of social media posts made by the poll body, following a row over the acerbic nature of the remarks, which pertained to erroneous voter slip entries.

The controversy began when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh questioned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over an erroneous entry, where ‘Ramhit Yadav’ became ‘Ram ne Yadav ko Maara’ (Ram hit Yadav) in the voter list of the recent Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council election. Election Commission sought explanation from officials as goof-up in voter list went viral Election Commission sought explanation from officials as goof-up in voter list went viral “There is a possibility of mistakes when doing any work for the first time.

Out of 14,81,310 entries in the voter list, there are a total of 158 entries in which the names of the voters or their relatives appear strange. The strangeness of these names is due to such a mistake,” says statement released by Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh Election Commission sought explanation from officials as goof-up in voter list went viral storyline 1 U.P. Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa’s office attributed the error to a translation software glitch.

The software used to prepare voter lists was designed to transliterate names entered in English into Hindi, which led to ‘Ramhit Yadav’ being incorrectly entered as ‘Ram Hit Yadav’. The software interpreted the words as a sentence and translated it to “Ram ne Yadav ko Maara” in Hindi. Mr. Singh had questioned the CEC on whether the latter was running the agenda for a particular political party.

“Gyanesh Kumar, why did Ram hit only a Yadav? Why did Ram not hit any Singh, Pathak, Asthana, Sharma, Rai or Bisht? Is your computer casteist? Are you running the agenda of any political party?” the AAP leader said in a post on social media platform X. In an acerbic response, Mr. Rinwa’s office cited another instance of a similar error, where the name of the father of a voter, Ravi Sharma, was incorrectly recorded as “Ram ne Sharma ko Maara”.

“A bizarre name, ‘Ram ne Sharma ko maara’, has appeared in the voter list for the recent Legislative Council elections. Computers/software are not casteist. We admit that a mistake was made, but fortunately for us, even when the mistake occurred, caste discrimination was not involved,” Mr. Rinwa’s office said. Uttar Pradesh CEO orders reverification of all forms submitted through computer operators Uttar Pradesh CEO orders reverification of all forms submitted through computer operators Action comes after controversy over errors found in electoral rolls published after the Special Intensive Revision Uttar Pradesh CEO orders reverification of all forms submitted through computer operators storyline 1 This was followed by another mocking remark by Mr.

Rinwa’s office, which said that had the entry read “Ram hit a minority”, the authorities would have been accused of communalism too. “Thank God, Ram did not kill a member of a minority community. Otherwise, we would have been accused of being communal as well as casteist,” the remark read. The AAP MP was quick to hit back. On Monday (October 26, 2026), he held a press conference in Lucknow, alleging that the U.P.

Chief Electoral Officer was responding like an “agent of the BJP”. He also flagged other absurd entries in the electoral rolls, and sought strict action against Mr. Rinwa for the objectionable remarks. On Tuesday (October 27, 2026), however, Mr. Rinwa’s office issued an apology. “The tone, language and sharpness of the comments in the quoted post from this handle are not in keeping with the kind of communication expected from an official handle,” the apology posted to X said.

Campaign targeting SP-Congress alliance to consolidate PDA: Akhilesh Yadav Campaign targeting SP-Congress alliance to consolidate PDA: Akhilesh Yadav He said attempts to create controversy over Congress' alleged 200-seat demand would only consolidate the PDA, and also questioned who was instrumental in erecting objectionable posters targeting the alliance Campaign targeting SP-Congress alliance to consolidate PDA: Akhilesh Yadav storyline 1 “The genuine outrage sparked by the comments in the post has been duly noted.

We sincerely apologise to those who have been shocked and angered by them. From now on, our communication will be civil and formal,” Mr. Rinwa’s office said.