Now Reading: Akhilesh demands Aadhaar-linked voting, Kejriwal backs him
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Akhilesh demands Aadhaar-linked voting, Kejriwal backs him
The Story in Brief
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday, 9 November 2026, demanded Aadhaar-linked voting and metal voter identity cards with biometric identification for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, alleging it would prevent the BJP from rigging polls. The demand follows opposition protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and calls for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Separately, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that 1.27 crore Hindu voters' names were deleted in the SIR and that the Muslim voter proportion rose by 1.63 per cent. Akhilesh countered that the state government must have received the SIR data from the Election Commission before it was public. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal joined the fray, congratulating Akhilesh in advance and alleging the Election Commission was acting at the behest of two people. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi listed a ten-point 'package' of election-linked exercises he said the BJP and EC were using to undermine opposition. Assembly polls are due early 2027.
Update, 9 November 2026: Times of India reports that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, 9 November 2026, took a swipe at CM Yogi Adityanath over the SIR row and extended advance congratulations to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Kejriwal alleged the Election Commission was acting at the behest of two people. India TV adds that Adityanath said 55 lakh Hindu voters who are beneficiaries of government welfare schemes are missing from the voter list, along with 4.5 lakh voters aged 18 and 19.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Economic Times, India TV and Times of India all report the SIR controversy in Uttar Pradesh, but each centres on a different actor. The Economic Times leads with Akhilesh Yadav's Aadhaar-linked voting demand and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's broader indictment of the Election Commission and the BJP, framing the story as opposition-led criticism. India TV frames the row as a 'battleline' between CM Yogi Adityanath and Akhilesh, giving prominent space to Adityanath's claim about deleted Hindu voters and his attack on Akhilesh's vote-bank politics, before reporting Akhilesh's counter. Times of India leads with Arvind Kejriwal's swipe at Yogi and his advance congratulations to Akhilesh, foregrounding the political jibe over the substance of the voter-list dispute. Neither outlet reports new official data on the deletions or additions from the Election Commission.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (3): economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical), indiatvnews.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (sensationalist)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 9 November 2026: further reports on this story from aninews.in, indianexpress.com.
