<p>The <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-elections-2026-congress-announces-alliance-with-prakash-ambedkar-led-vba-23609637" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi</a> (VBA) on Friday reiterated its concerns over alleged irregularities in recent state assembly elections, drawing parallels between voting patterns in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Addressing a press conference in Pune, party president Prakash Ambedkar cited data presented by economist Parakala Prabhakar to question the transparency of the electoral process.</p>
<h2>Late-Night Voting Figures Raise Questions</h2>
<p>Ambedkar referred to Prabhakar&rsquo;s analysis of official notifications issued by the Election Commission of India, claiming that a significant portion of votes in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections were recorded well after standard polling hours.</p>
<p>According to the figures cited, approximately 4.16 per cent of total votes were cast between 11:45 pm and 2 am, with nearly 52 lakh votes recorded between 8 pm and 2 am. Of these, over 17 lakh votes were reportedly cast after midnight alone. Ambedkar argued that such patterns were &ldquo;unusual&rdquo; and comparable to trends observed in Maharashtra during the 2024 <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-election-2026-prakash-ambedkar-says-this-civic-polls-will-end-bjps-dominance-of-past-ten-years-23612149" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Assembly elections</a>.</p>
<h2>Maharashtra Turnout Spike Under Scrutiny</h2>
<p>The VBA leader pointed to what he described as a sharp increase in voter turnout in Maharashtra after the official close of polling. He noted that turnout stood at 58.22 per cent at 5 pm on polling day, but rose to 66.05 per cent in the final figures released later&mdash;an increase of 7.83 percentage points.</p>
<p>Citing <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/west-bengal-assembly-polls-2026-election-commission-releases-supplementary-voters-list-23622448" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Election Commission</a> data, Ambedkar said that between 5 pm and 11:30 pm on November 20, 2024, the total number of votes polled increased by nearly 66 lakh. He further claimed that an additional rise of close to 10 lakh votes was recorded just hours before counting began. In total, he alleged that over 75 lakh votes were added between the evening of polling day and the night before counting.</p>
<h2>Concerns Over Transparency and Data Disclosure</h2>
<p>Ambedkar also raised concerns about the non-availability of booth-level data, particularly Form 17C, which details votes polled at individual polling stations. He alleged that such data was not made publicly accessible in the Maharashtra elections, limiting independent verification.</p>
<p>He argued that similarities in voting patterns and data gaps across states point to deeper issues in the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/clean-the-system-not-just-booths-shiv-sena-ubt-criticises-mandatory-voting-push-23618582" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">electoral process</a>, including questions about transparency and accountability.</p>
<h2>Call for Legal Intervention</h2>
<p>The VBA has already initiated legal proceedings over the matter. Party member Chetan Chandrakant Ahire has filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court, naming the Union government and the Election Commission among respondents.</p>
<p>Ambedkar said he had also written to Mallikarjun Kharge and <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/law-and-order-has-completely-collapsed-in-uttarakhand-rahul-gandhi-slams-bjp-23623452" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Rahul Gandhi</a>, urging the Congress to join what he described as a legal challenge to the election results. The correspondence, sent on two occasions in 2025, invited the party to intervene in the case pending before the Supreme Court of India.</p>
<h2>&lsquo;Legal Fight Needed, Not Just Protests&rsquo;</h2>
<p>While opposition parties have staged protests over alleged irregularities, Ambedkar stressed that legal action is essential to address such concerns. He argued that courtroom scrutiny, rather than street mobilisation alone, would be more effective in examining discrepancies and ensuring electoral integrity.</p>
<p>The VBA has maintained that early legal intervention could have prevented similar concerns from arising in subsequent elections. The Election Commission has not yet publicly responded to the specific claims raised during the press conference.</p>

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