New Delhi, 7 February (HS): Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, on Friday jointly accused Maharashtra of adding fake voters on a large scale in the voter list ahead of the state assembly elections.

Addressing a joint press conference in the national capital, Rahul Gandhi said that the entire opposition that contested the last election in Maharashtra was represented. Our team studied the voter lists and voting patterns in detail. Unfortunately, we have found many irregularities. It is necessary for the country, especially those who believe in democracy and the youth, to be aware of these findings and understand them.

He questioned the Election Commission and said that more voters were added in Maharashtra in just five months than were added in five years. In the five years between the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2019 and the Lok Sabha elections 2024, 32 lakh voters were added to the voter list of Maharashtra. At the same time, in the five-month period between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections, 39 lakh new voters were added in Maharashtra. Meaning, a population equal to the number of voters in Himachal Pradesh was added in Maharashtra in 5 months. He said that in such a situation, the question is why more voters are being added after five months of the Lok Sabha elections than five years ago. Who are these five lakh people and where have they come from.

He said that according to the government, the adult population of Maharashtra is 9.54 crore, but according to the Election Commission, there are 9.70 crore voters in Maharashtra. Meaning, according to the Election Commission, there are more voters in Maharashtra than the population. Giving another example, Rahul said that Congress got 1.36 lakh votes in Kamthi in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress won this election. After this, 35 thousand new voters were added here before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. All these voters went to BJP's account and BJP won the election. He said that there are many such examples in Maharashtra.

In the press conference, the Congress leader said that our vote has not decreased in Maharashtra, BJP's vote has increased. Where BJP's strike rate has been 90 percent. This has never happened in history. We are asking the Election Commission for the voter list of Maharashtra, but the Election Commission is not giving us this list. It is the commission's job to bring transparency in elections. Opposition parties of Maharashtra are publicly asking questions to the Election Commission, but still we are not being given the list. The Election Commission should hand over the voter list of Maharashtra to us as soon as possible.

In the press conference, NCP leader Supriya Sule said that we want re-elections to be held with ballot papers even in those constituencies where our candidates have won. There are 11 such seats where we lost the elections due to confusion between the party's election symbols. Even the ruling party has accepted it. We requested Tutari several times to change the election symbol, but the request was not considered. We only demand fairness from the Election Commission.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar