Congress Highlights Two Significant Discrepancies in Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Calls for EC Investigation
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New Delhi, Dec 3 (NationPress) On Tuesday, the Congress party spotlighted two serious discrepancies discovered in the data associated with the polling and counting processes for the recently held Maharashtra Assembly Elections. These discrepancies relate to the addition and deletion of names from the electoral rolls ahead of the elections, as well as notable inconsistencies in the voter turnout figures.
"We are writing to inform you of certain serious discrepancies that have been revealed in the data concerning the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra State Assembly Elections. These glaring discrepancies threaten the foundation of a transparent, free, and fair electoral system and are grounded in facts extracted from publicly available information provided by this Hon’ble Commission," stated a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners. This letter was signed by the party's Maharashtra chief Nana Patole, along with senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Mukul Wasnik.
Moreover, questions surrounding Maharashtra’s voter data have also been raised by a former Chief Election Commissioner, according to the letter.
By citing certain concerning data points that necessitate intervention by the election panel, the Congress accused the authorities of arbitrarily deleting voters while adding over 10,000 voters in each constituency from the final voter lists.
In the lead-up to the elections, the party and its allies received numerous reports indicating that the ruling regime was employing various tactics to perpetrate large-scale electoral fraud across Maharashtra's Assembly Constituencies, including this.
"Due to this unchecked and arbitrary deletion and subsequent addition of voters, Maharashtra experienced an unprecedented increase of approximately 47 lakh voters being added to the electoral roll between July 2024 and November 2024," the letter stated.
"These data points, upon initial examination, indicate that; (a) there has been a significant and inexplicable rise in the number of registered voters throughout Maharashtra; and (b) there has been an exercise of deletion and addition of names in voter lists, all of which have conveniently benefited the Incumbent Government."
The Congress further mentioned that the issue was previously raised by the Maha Vikas Aghadi on October 19 before the election panel, yet no action was taken.
The party asserted that these instances of electoral fraud and voter list manipulation are supported by the fact that on October 17, a Voter Registration Officer from the Tuljapur Assembly Constituency filed an FIR with the Dharashiv Cyber Police Station, reporting numerous instances of fake voter registrations between October 2 and October 16.
Including a copy of the FIR as an annex, the party argued that given the unprecedented increase in the number of registered voters within just five months—between the Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra State Assembly Elections—there is no doubt that existing safeguards of this Commission have failed to prevent such electoral fraud.
Additionally, the Congress raised concerns regarding the unexpected rise in voting percentages from 5 p.m. to the final figures declared at 11:30 p.m. on the same day.
According to the data provided by this Hon’ble Commission, the polling percentage across Maharashtra at 5 p.m. was recorded at 58.22%. This percentage was later reported to have increased to 65.02% by 11:30 p.m. on the same day. Furthermore, there was another rise in the voting percentage, ultimately being reported as 66.05%, several hours before the counting began.
"It is noted that based on the voter data supplied by the Hon’ble Commission, approximately 76 lakh votes were cast between 5 p.m. and the closing time of polling at 6 p.m.," the party mentioned, adding that there was yet another surge of about 10 lakh voters just hours before the counting of votes on November 23.
"This discrepancy raises numerous questions regarding the manner in which the electoral process was conducted across Maharashtra. From a common-sense perspective, the casting of over 70 lakh votes in the final hour of polling is implausible and unprecedented in electoral history," the party argued, emphasizing the impossibility for the poll panel to have finalized the data by 11:30 p.m.
"These instances, corroborated by numerical data released by this Hon’ble Commission, raise significant concerns about the conduct of free and fair elections in Maharashtra. These doubts are further reinforced by the absence of any coherent response from the Hon’ble Commission addressing these concerns," the Congress stated.
Pointing out the constitutional obligations, the Congress emphasized that the Election Commission is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process. Given the aforementioned issues, it is essential for the Commission to "hold itself accountable and provide a detailed public response that seeks to clarify the discrepancies and concerning data points mentioned herein."
They also requested that the election panel conduct an urgent in-person hearing to discuss the two issues highlighted, along with several other constituency-specific concerns.
