Maharashtra: BJP leader Devang Dave denies role in voters’ list irregularities

Devang Dave

BJP leader Devang Dave has challenged the Opposition to give proof, if they have any, to show his involvement in the tampering or wrongdoing in the voters' list. On Thursday, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that Dave was responsible for the mess in the electoral lists. Speaking to the media, Rohit said, "Dave has created the mess in the rolls."

Speaking to mid-day, Dave claimed that directly or indirectly, he has no connection with the Election Commission or electoral rolls. Dave, a member of the Maharashtra BJP election management committee, refuted all charges against him and said, "Instead of making baseless allegations, Opposition leaders should come up with evidence to substantiate their claims."

A day earlier, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had levelled similar charges against Dave. In fact, on Wednesday, the entire Opposition had met the state election commission officials and chief electoral officer (CEO) with concerns over irregularities in the voters' list, which includes missing names, duplicate entries and sudden deletion of voters.

After the meeting, while addressing the media, the members of delegation, too, questioned Dave's role. This is not the first time Dave's name has been raked up in connection with the election rolls and process. In 2019, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had made a similar allegation and accordingly an inquiry was ordered.

"In 2020, I was given a clean-chit. Now, once again, when the Opposition is getting a feeling that it will not win the upcoming local body elections, attempts are being made to set a narrative to blame the election body and electoral rolls. As part of this narrative, my name is being dragged in," said Dave, a former national convener of IT and social media youth wing of the BJP.