Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — Sanjay Raut and Supriya Sule — on Friday alleged irregularities in the voter lists of the 2024 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, and posed a volley of questions to the Election Commission of India in this regard.

Acting promptly, the ECI said it would respond in writing.

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Notably, the MVA alliance in Maharashtra includes the Congress party, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP).

Addressing a press conference at the Constitution Club along with Shiv Sena-UBT MP Raut and NCP-SCP MP Sule, the Leader of Opposition said, “We represent the entire Opposition (MVA) that contested the last election in Maharashtra. We wish to bring to the notice of the people of India some crucial information we have uncovered regarding the Maharashtra elections.

“Our team has meticulously studied the voters’ list and voting patterns, and we have been working on this for some time. Unfortunately, we’ve found numerous ‘irregularities’. It’s essential for the country, particularly young people who champion and believe in democracy, to be aware of and understand these findings,” Gandhi said.

Stating that the findings regarding the Maharashtra elections raises several questions for the ECI, he claimed that between the 2019 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 32 lakh voters were added to the state’s electoral rolls over five years. However, between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2024 Assembly elections, 39 lakh new voters were added in just five months.

“Why were more voters added after the Lok Sabha elections? Who are these 39 lakh individuals? Notably, 39 lakh voters is equivalent to the entire voter population of Himachal Pradesh, added in a remarkably short period,” the Leader of Opposition said.

Claiming that there are more registered voters in Maharashtra than the state’s actual voting population, Gandhi said, “According to the government, Maharashtra’s adult population is 9.54 crore. Yet, the Election Commission reports more voters in Maharashtra than its adult population. This discrepancy raises questions about how these voters were created.

“We have been asking the ECI for the voters’ list of both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Why is the ECI not responding to our request? Now, it’s the responsibility of the ECI to come clean on what has happened,” he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Raut said, “The ECI should answer Rahul Gandhi’s questions, but it will not answer because it is acting as a slave to the government. Therefore, the questions we have raised are very important for the country.”

“For a strong democracy, there has to be fair elections. Our demand is that elections should be fair,” Sule said.

In an apparent reference to the allegations made by them, the ECI in a post on X wrote, “ECI considers political parties, as priority stakeholders, of course the voters being the prime and deeply values views, suggestions, questions coming from political parties. The Commission would respond in writing with a full factual and procedural matrix uniformly adopted across the country.”