New Delhi, February 7: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi today ‘exposed’ the glaring discrepancies and irregularities in Maharashtra voter list and questioned the motive and intentions of the Election Commission of India in not sharing the data with the Congress and other opposition parties.

Addressing a press conference along with other leaders of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, Ms Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena(ÜBT), Gandhi also questioned the motive of the government in removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee to appoint the Election Commissioners.

Gandhi revealed that more voters were added in Maharashtra in five months than in the previous five years. He said that in five years, between Vidhan Sabha elections 2019 and Lok Sabha polls 2024, 32 lakh voters were added to the electoral rolls of Maharashtra. However, in a period of five months, between Lok Sabha elections 2024, which INDIA won, and Vidhan Sabha polls 2024, 39 lakh new voters were added in Maharashtra, he added. He asked how it was possible that more voters were added in five months after the Lok Sabha election than in the previous five years. Drawing a comparison, he said Himachal Pradesh has an equivalent number of voters and the voting population of Himachal Pradesh was added to the voter list of Maharashtra after the Lok Sabha elections.

Pointing to the glaring discrepancy regarding the total number of voters in Maharashtra, he said there were more registered voters in Maharashtra than the entire adult population of the state.

Quoting government figures, he said the adult population of Maharashtra is 9.54 crores. According to the Election Commission, there are 9.7 crore voters in Maharashtra implying there are more voters than there are adult people in Maharashtra, he added.

“The government itself is saying our adult population is 9.54 crores, and the Election Commission has more voters than the number of adult people in Maharashtra,” while asking how that could be possible.

Another important point Gandhi raised was that the number of voters who voted for the three MVA parties had not reduced between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. “We have got the same number of votes, and here is an example,” he added.

The senior Congress leader gave an example that Congress got 1.36 lakh votes in Kamthi in the Lok Sabha elections and won that election.

After this, 35,000 new voters were added here before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. All these votes went to the BJP, and it won the election.

“There are many such examples in Maharashtra,” he said, where new voters were added and BJP’s votes increased.

The number of voters who voted for the three parties of the India Alliance in Maharashtra has not decreased in the Assembly elections. BJP’s vote has increased where its strike rate has been 90 percent in Maharashtra. “This has never happened in history,” he remarked.

He also revealed that a large number of voters’ names were removed in Maharashtra. Many Voters names were shifted from one to another booth. Most of these voters come from Dalit, tribal, and minority communities, he said.

Calling the EC to come clean on Maharashtra election irregularities allegations, Gandhi said that despite raising the issue in Parliament, the Commission has not responded.

“Now, the only reason they would not respond is that there is something wrong with what they have done. I am not making accusations. I am presenting data here clearly, and I am asking the Election Commission again. The three major Opposition parties of Maharashtra are asking you for the voter list of the Lok Sabha and the voter list of the Vidhan Sabha elections,” he said, while telling the ECI, “It is your duty to provide transparency in the election; it is not our responsibility to provide transparency in the election.”

“It is important that now, after repeated requests from the entire Opposition here, the Election Commission hands over the voter list so we can take our investigation to its logical conclusion,” he observed.

Speaking on the occasion, Supriya Sule said that Uttam Jankar of her party became an MLA from Solapur district but did not get the votes he should have. Even after winning the election, Uttam Jankar wanted re-polling to be conducted using ballot paper, but the process was stopped by sending police there.

She also said that the Election Commission changed the symbol of her party, which created confusion among the voters. This confusion became the reason for her party’s defeat on 11 seats, she added.

Sanjay Raut said that the Election Commission will not answer Rahul Gandhi’s questions because it was acting as a slave of the government. He said that 39 lakh fake votes were cast in Maharashtra and that they will now go to Bihar. “These are floating votes, and they keep moving wherever elections are held,” he said, while remarking, “This is the new pattern of BJP; they win elections like this.”