Rahul Gandhi questions Election Commission For Voter Irregularities In Maharashtra Polls
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has come forward with serious allegations of vote rigging in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections. As a part of his campaign to attack the ruling government, Gandhi has made social media posts and held press confrence claiming that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not justified the anomalous spike in voter registrations prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as compared to the marked voters five months later.
Our questions to the Election Commission on the Maharashtra elections:
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 7, 2025
- Why did EC add more voters in Maharashtra in 5 months than it did in 5 years?
- Why were there more registered voters in VS 2024 than the entire adult population of Maharashtra?
- One example among many… pic.twitter.com/K7fOWdnXmV
Key Allegations by Rahul Gandhi
Unusual Surge in Voter Registration Within a Short Time: Rahul Gandhi drew attention to the fact that 39 lakh fresh voters were recorded in Maharashtra in a span of five months alone. This figure is higher than the 32 lakh voters added in the five years that straddled the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He put forward the logic that there is a discrepancy with registered voters who are expected to be an adult compared to the adult population. The adult population of the state as put by the estimated number is 9.54 crores but the voters registered for the Vidhan Sabha elections were around 9.7 crores. Gandhi raised the concern why do the voters exceed the adult population.
Kamthi Example: The margin of victory for BJP candidates in Kamthi was almost exactly equal to the number of voters who had enrolled over the past five months. This fact raises the possibility of foul play with regards to the voter registration process.
The Opposition’s Claim
Rahul Gandhi together with Shiv Sena, UBT’s Sanjay Raut and NCP, SP’s Supriya Sule, called a press conference in New Delhi where they demanded an urgent response from the ECI.
Gandhi’s Questions:
- Why is the addition of voters in the first five months of the year exceed the sum of five years of the past?
- How come there are more voters on the data base in Maharashtra than the entire adult population of the state?
- Who are these 39 lakh citizens who were added in so less time?
The allegation is that the BJP’S Mahayuti alliance parties, have benefitted from these alleged discrepancies in Maharashtra assembly elections in November 2024.
Response of ECI
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has responded to the charges levelled against them with this pinned post on X (Formerly Twitter): “ECI treats political parties as key stakeholders while the voters are the primary stakeholders. Commission appreciates the views, recommendations, and issues from the political parties. A response will be provided in writing with full factual and procedural matrix that has been uniformly adopted in the whole country.”
During the course of this argument, the ECI promised a response but has not provided any explanation for the sudden surge in registrations for voters from Maharashtra.
ECI considers political parties,as priority stakeholders,of course the voters being the prime & deeply values views, suggestions, questions coming from political parties. Commission would respond in writing with full factual &procedural matrix uniformly adopted across the country
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) February 7, 2025
The issue raised by Rahul Gandhi, a day before the Delhi election outcome, bears notable political consequences. On the one hand, it gives some relief to the opposition, sows doubt around the electoral processes, and gives rise to a political contest. Blaming the credibility of ECI on voting mischiefs in the state of Maharashtra raises questions about electoral systems especially if the results of the elections in the national capital will not be affirmative to the opposition.
