‘39 lakh voters added in 5 months’: Rahul Gandhi alleges manipulation in Maha State polls

New Delhi: As many as 39 lakh new voters were added in Maharashtra in the five months after the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, claimed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi while speaking on the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The Congress alleged that although there are 9.54 crore adults in Maharashtra, the data showed that there are 9.7 crore registered voters, and he asked the ECI to explain and provide a full list of voter details for clarification.

The data on the issue has been collected by a team of people working on understanding the voting patterns and complaints from various Congress workers across Maharashtra. The report was submitted to the senior Congress leaders.

Rahul Gandhi questions EC

Rahul Gandhi asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) three questions regarding voting and election results in Maharashtra polls.

1. Why did the EC add more voters in Maharashtra in five months than it did in five years?

2. Why were there more registered voters in Assembly elections 2024 than the entire adult population of Maharashtra?

3. Rahul Gandhi also posed a question about the additions to the voters’ list by showing the Kamthi Assembly Constituency where the BJP’s margin of victory was nearly equal to the number of new voters added.

More voters than people

According to government data, the people of Maharashtra are 9.54 crores but the registered voters in Maharashtra, according to ECI, are 9.7 crores. Citing the data, Rahul Gandhi said, “There are more registered voters in Maharashtra than there are people of the state.”

Voting patterns

The voting patterns in Maharashtra for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and INDIA parties have been the same as that of the Lok Sabha elections, according to the analysis by the team of Congress.

Congress vote share in Lok Sabha was 1.36 lakh votes and in Vidhan Sabha, it is 1.34 lakh votes.

BJP's vote share in Lok Sabha was 1.9 lakh votes and in Vidhan Sabha, it was 1.75 lakh votes

“The victory for the BJP is from the new voters who were added to the electoral rolls in the five months after Lok Sabha elections. These voters are equivalent to the voters in Himachal Pradesh. This pattern has been noted in Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP constituencies.”

Voters deleted from minority communities

Rahul Gandhi said, “We have repeatedly asked for the data from the ECI but there is no answer from them. We have questioned the ECI about the Dalit and minority votes that were deleted but there is no response.”

Kharge asks for photographs

Speaking to the media on the occasion, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The discrepancies in the voters’ list of Maharashtra Lok Sabha and Assembly elections have been exposed. We want the ECI to give us a consolidated voters’ list in an Excel format with photographs of the voters. This is very important for upholding faith in the fairness of the electoral process and trust in democracy. We will not let the ‘Mother of Democracy’ become a ‘Manipulated Democracy’.”

ECI responds on X

Responding to the allegations, in a statement on X, the Election Commission of India said, “ECI considers political parties as priority stakeholders, with the voters being the prime. It deeply values views, suggestions and questions coming from political parties. The commission would respond in writing with a full factual and procedural matrix uniformly adopted across the country.”