Rahul Gandhi Alleges ‘Vote Theft’ In Maharashtra Assembly Polls

New Delhi: Flagging alleged irregularities in the Maharashtra assembly polls, Congress leader Mr Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed of "vote theft" and demanded the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls as well as CCTV footage.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha shared on X a media report which claimed that in just six months between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls, Nagpur South West -- the seat held by BJP leader and state chief minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis -- added 29,219 new voters.

"In Maharashtra CM's own constituency, the voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months. Some booths saw a 20-50% surge. BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes. Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address. And the EC? Silent -- or complicit. These aren't isolated glitches. This is vote theft. The cover-up is the confession. That's why we demand the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage,” Mr Gandhi said in his post.

Mr Gandhi is in London to attend the graduation ceremony of his niece, Miraya Vadra, who is the daughter of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra.

On his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has responded by saying all polls held by it are strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules formulated, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties. The ECI has also invited Mr Gandhi to have one-on-one discussions on the issue.

The ECI had sent a letter to Mr Gandhi on June 12 in response to his article written in a newspaper in which he accused the ECI of “match fixing” in Maharashtra by manipulating voter list. The EC responded by saying the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the assembly constituency level, which involved more than 1,00,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROS) appointed by the Comrnission.

"We presume that any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law (high court) by the INC candidates. However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues," ECI wrote to Mr Gandhi.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra on Tuesday reiterated that the electoral rolls are prepared transparently and copies were shared with the political parties from time to time. It added that before 2024 assembly polls, during draft and final publication of rolls 19, 27,508 claims and objections were received for consideration. “As per law, appeal can be filed against wrongful additions or deletions were received for consideration, and only 89 appeals were filed,” the CEO said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis countered Mr Gandhi’s allegations saying he should first check with his party's elected MLAs before shooting arrows blindly.

“I understand the sting of your humiliating defeat in Maharashtra is intensifying by the day. But how long will you keep shooting arrows blindly?" Mr Fadnavis wrote on X.

In a post on X, Mr Fadnavis said there are more than 25 seats in Maharashtra where the number of voters have increased between 2024 Lok Sabha polls and state assembly elections and in many of these the Congress or its allies have been the winners.

"In West Nagpur, next to my own South West seat, voter count rose by 7 per cent (27,065), and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre won. In North Nagpur, there was a 7 per cent rise (29,348 voters), and the Congress' Nitin Raut secured victory. In Vadgaon Sheri (Pune), voter numbers jumped by 10 per cent (50,911), and Bapu Pathare from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won. In Malad West, the increase was 11 per cent (38,625), and your own party's Aslam Shaikh was elected. In Mumbra, there was a 9 per cent increase (46,041), and Jitendra Awhad from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won," the CM wrote in the post.

Taking a dig at Gandhi's communication style, Mr Fadnavis said the Congress leader should have spoken to his long-time colleagues Aslam Shaikh, Vikas Thakare, or Nitin Raut before tweeting. "This way, you wouldn't have exposed the Congress party's lack of internal communication so embarrassingly," he said.