NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday levelled serious allegations of poll rigging on the Election Commission regarding the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections.
Questioning the credibility of the poll body, the Congress MP alleged a massive addition in the voters’ list of Maharashtra after the Lok Sabha elections which was held before the assembly polls.
“There was a big change in the voters list. 72 lakh voters were added after the Lok Sabha elections 2024, in 118 seats of Maharashtra, out of which BJP won 102. It makes clear that there is something wrong, somewhere,” Rahul said at the Congress Working Committee meet in Belagavi, according to ANI sources.
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The opposition has been raising doubts over the credibility of Maharashtra assembly election results after the Mahayuti won 230 seats in a 288-member House with the BJP securing 132 seats alone.
Earlier this month, a Congress delegation expressed concerns to the Election Commission regarding potential anomalies in the updating of electoral rolls and a post-poll surge in voter turnout during the Maharashtra elections.
The delegation had highlighted the deletion of lakhs of voters from the electoral rolls in Maharashtra. It had also claimed that 47 lakh new additions had been made since the Lok Sabha elections, while the Election Commission reported the figure as 39 lakh.
The Election Commission had clarified that the additions to the voter list were in line with the usual 2% population growth, with a significant portion of new voters being from the 18-19 age group.