‘Ram Ne Yadav Ko Maara’: EC Explains Software Glitch Behind Bizarre Hindi Translations In UP MLC Voter Rolls

A software glitch in Uttar Pradesh’s digital electoral rolls translated voters’ names into bizarre Hindi sentences, including ‘Ram ne Sharma ko maara’, prompting EC to order an inquiry into 158 unusual entries ahead of polling for 11 MLC seats.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa acknowledged the discrepancies on Thursday, saying 158 entries among the 14.81 lakh names listed across the 11 constituencies contained details that appeared “unusual”.

The errors came to light ahead of Friday’s polling and were reported in the Allahabad-Jhansi graduates’ constituency. Apart from names translated into nonsensical phrases, an entry listing ‘B.Com’ as a voter’s father’s name was also flagged.

How A Software Error Produced Bizarre Names

Rinwa explained that the software was designed to transliterate names entered in English into Hindi. However, in some cases, it translated the words instead of reproducing their phonetic equivalents, leading to incorrect entries in the final electoral rolls.

For instance, a name such as ‘Ramhit Yadav’, if mistakenly entered as ‘Ram hit Yadav’, could be translated into Hindi as ‘Ram ne Yadav ko maara’, meaning ‘Ram beat Yadav’. Similar errors produced phrases such as ‘Ram ne Sharma ko maara’.

The software interpreted the separated words as a sentence rather than as parts of a person’s name.

Rinwa said the errors could have been corrected using the editing option available in the software, but some remained in the final lists. He indicated that the entry showing ‘B.Com’ as a father’s name appeared to be the result of human error or negligence rather than a translation glitch.

First Digital Preparation Of Electoral Rolls In UP

The discrepancies have raised questions about Uttar Pradesh’s first digital exercise to prepare electoral rolls for graduate and teachers’ constituencies.

Previously, the rolls were prepared manually at the district level. The new platform, developed by the election office’s IT team in about four months, was designed to manage voter registration, application processing, approvals and rejections, duplicate checks, serialisation and downloading of electoral rolls.

The system was intended to streamline the preparation and management of voter lists. However, the translation errors allowed incorrect entries to pass into the final rolls.

Rinwa said the 158 unusual entries represented a small proportion of the 14.81 lakh voters registered across the 11 constituencies.

Inquiry Confirms Electoral Roll Errors

The discrepancies surfaced after political parties raised complaints and lists highlighting the errors circulated on social media.

Rinwa ordered an inquiry, which was conducted by Jhansi Divisional Commissioner Vimal Kumar Dubey. The probe confirmed that errors had occurred in the electoral rolls.

The elections cover five graduates’ constituencies and six teachers’ constituencies across Uttar Pradesh.

Officials Told To Ensure Eligible Voters Can Cast Ballots

Amid the controversy, Rinwa directed district authorities to ensure that no eligible voter is denied the right to vote because of clerical or printing errors in the electoral rolls.

Presiding officers were instructed to verify the necessary documents and allow eligible voters to cast their ballots. District magistrates will be held responsible if eligible voters are turned away for such reasons.

Polling for the 11 MLC seats is being held from 8 am to 4 pm on Friday. More than 14.81 lakh voters are eligible to vote at 2,697 polling stations across 72 districts, with 152 candidates contesting the elections.