A day before BJP swept to power in Delhi after 27 years after getting an emphatic mandate in the assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was in Mumbai, where he demanded that the Election Commission must have over to his party detailed list of voters of the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Maharashtra.
Rahul Gandhi, along with NCP (Sharad) leader Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut addressed a joint press conference where he alleged that 39 lakh voters were added during the five-month period between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state. Rahul Gandhi said, on the contrary, only 32 lakh voters were handed during the five-year period from 2019 to 2024.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that the adult population in Maharashtra was 9.54 crore, as per government data, but the number of voters is 9.7 crore. “We want to know who are these new voters?”, Rahul Gandhi asked.
Sanjay Raut alleged that the BJP has invented a new formula to win elections with the help of the Election Commission. He said, the 39 lakh new voters in Maharashtra will now be added to the Bihar voter lists since Bihar would be going to elections towards the end of this year.
“This is the floating voter, who move from one state to another, where elections are held. BJP wins elections with the help of these floating voters”, Raut said.
Supriya Sule demanded paper ballots to replace EVMs. She alleged that the EC never listens to opposition parties’ demand for repoll, nor listen to their demand for change in poll symbols. “The EC never replies to our complaints. If you want to save democracy, the EC must reply to all our queries”, she said.
The fact is, Rahul Gandhi never sticks to figures whenever he makes allegations. In the last three weeks, he had raised the allegation of malpractices in electoral lists at least thrice. Every time, he changes his figures.
On January 18, while addressing a rally in Patna, Rahul Gandhi said, the number of voters in Maharashtra rose by one crore in the last five months. On February 3, while speaking in Lok Sabha, he put this figure at 70 lakhs. On Friday, he said the figure was 39 lakhs. It is now difficult for anybody to decide which figure could be correct.
The Election Commission on Friday said, it would respond to Rahul Gandhi’s charges with full facts and figures. In a tweet on X, Election Commission said, it “would respond in writing with full factual and procedures matrix uniformly adopted across” India.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, since Congress is going to be decimated again in Delhi elections, Rahul Gandhi is trying to prepare a ground for giving excuses for his party’s impending defeat.
Fadnavis said, “it would be better if Rahul Gandhi introspects, otherwise the Congress party is bound to sink.”
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said, the defeat in Maharashtra assembly polls has acted as an electric shock for Maha Vikas Aghadi and Rahul Gandhi is unable to reconcile with reality. “He is only making excuses. It will be better if Rahul Gandhi forgets the past and prepare for fresh elections”, Shinde said.
Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane compared Rahul, Sanjay Raut and Supriya Sule with the “3 idiots”. He said, “earlier Congress and its allies used to get en bloc Muslim votes and the Hindu votes used to be divided. This time Hindus voted unitedly and MVA got a shock. If Rahul and Supriya Sule have problems with EVMs, they should first resign from Parliament and tell the people that they do not want to remain MP by becoming elected on the basis of EVMs.”
I think, Rahul Gandhi sometimes speaks whatever is given to him in writing. He does not do research on his own. I have seen the Election Commission figures. The Congress was in power in 2009. From 2009 to 2014, 75 lakh new voters were added in Maharashtra electoral lists. From 2014 to 2019 assembly elections, 63.1 lakh new voters were added. From 2019 to 2024, 71.84 lakh voters were added.
The pattern is the same. I have given here the figures. It is for the people to decide whether the charges of manipulation in electoral rolls can stand close scrutiny.