Electoral rolls prepared transparently; copies shared with recognised parties: Maharashtra CEO on Rahul Gandhi's allegations

New Delhi [India], June 24 (ANI): With Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleging that the voter list grew by eight per cent in just five months in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's constituency, Chief Electoral Office Maharashtra has rejected the allegations and stated that electoral rolls are prepared transparently and copies were shared with recognised parties.
"As informed by the Election Commission of India already, Electoral Rolls are shared with all recognised political parties. During second Special Summary Revision- 2024, which was taken up before the General Elections to Maharashtra Assembly- 2024, the copies of draft and final electoral rolls of all 288 ACs were provided to representatives of all recognised political parties including INC (Dates of handing over the rolls to INC can be seen in the attachment)," Chief Electoral Office, Maharashtra, said in a release.
"Between 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 in the Electoral Rolls. Only 89 Appeals were received." CEO further said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) invited the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for an interaction to discuss the issues related to his allegation on the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year, sources said on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the letter was sent via email on June 12 and was also received at his residence.
The former Congress President recently raised allegations against the poll body of "election rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls. However, ECI has rejected the allegations.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi cited a news report and claimed that the voter list grew by eight per cent in just five months in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's constituency, labelling it as "vote theft".
"In Maharashtra CM's 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," Gandhi said on X.
"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," Gandhi said. (ANI)