New Delhi: Ever since the BJP-spearheaded Mahayuti alliance stormed into power in the Maharashtra Assembly polls last November, the Opposition has been crying foul over the legitimacy of the election including issues like the number of voters.
On Friday, Rahul Gandhi and his Maha Vikas Aghadi allies reiterated their doubts and questioned anomalies in the electoral roll ahead of the polls.
At a joint press conference with Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar)’s Supriya Sule, Rahul claimed that more voters were added in the state in five months ahead of the November Assembly election than in five years. He further alleged that the overall number of voters in Maharashtra surpassed the state’s adult population.
“In five years between the Assembly elections in 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, 3.2 million voters were added. In five months between the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly polls, 3.9 million voters were added. Who are these 3.9 million voters? That is equivalent to the total number of voters of Himachal Pradesh. Why are there more voters in Maharashtra than the entire adult population?… the voters were suddenly created in Maharashtra,” Rahul said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) said it values views, suggestions, and questions, and will respond to the Congress leader’s queries in writing.
“ECI considers political parties, as priority stakeholders, of course the voters being the prime & deeply values views, suggestions, and questions coming from political parties. Commission would respond in writing with full factual & procedural matrix uniformly adopted across the country,” ECI said.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which bagged 30 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats in June, was reduced to 50 seats in the 288-member Assembly in November while the Mahayuti won in 235 constituencies.
According to Rahul, BJP won the constituencies where voters were added, further alleging that a large number of voters from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and minority communities were deleted from the voter list.
Citing Health Ministry data, Rahul said Maharashtra’s population was 95 million, but electoral roll had 97 million voters. “The constituencies where they added voters are BJP’s… they were added wherever the BJP won.”
He said more voters than the adult population of Maharashtra was not a speculation. “These are facts. This is not our data. This is the ECI’s data… there are factual anomalies… 90% strike rate (for BJP)… The ECI is the final authority. We are asking them. You would not be able to explain how there are more voters in Maharashtra than the adult population of the state,” Rahul said.
Congress leader asked for the electoral roll with all addresses. “If they give us that, we will have another press conference where the answers to the questions will be given… My concern is that the strategy is to delay and destroy. The ECI needs to give data… The next step is that we go to the judicial system… This is a small piece of the puzzle. The big piece of the puzzle is voter deletion.”
Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis dismissed Rahul charges.
“Gandhi is doing a cover fire as he knows that after the February 8 election results, his party will be nowhere in Delhi… If he does not introspect and continue to console himself with lies, his party’s revival is impossible. Rahul Gandhi should introspect his defeat,” said Fadnavis.
