Maharashtra elections: Congress delegation flags concerns over poll process, seeks raw data from EC

A Congress delegation met Election Commission officials in New Delhi on Tuesday and raised concerns over alleged inconsistencies in the electoral process for the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024 including the issue of large numbers of deletions and additions in the voters list reported the PTIThe opposition party sought raw data from the poll panel to ascertain factsAccording to the PTI the Congress delegation including Rajya Sabha MPs Abhishek Singhvi Mukul Wasnik Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole Gurdeep Singh Sappal and Praveen Chakravarty met Election Commission EC officials and explained the partys concerns over the pollsWe had a discussion in a constructive cordial and positive atmosphere I started by telling the Commission that we are furthering the cause of democracy because an uneven nonlevel field for elections directly affects the basic structure of the Indian Constitution Abhishek Singhvi told reporters after the meeting as per the PTIHe said the delegation raised threefour main issues including the large number of deletions from voters lists during the fivemonth period between the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly pollsWe questioned the doortodoor surveys which are mandatorily required before deletions We have asked for the raw data for the form involved For deletions it is Form 7 and for additions it is Form 6 he said adding that the Congress sought booth and constituencywise data for Maharashtra the news agency reported 1 hellip pictwittercomd1aWAtVuDBmdash Congress INCIndia December 3 2024This raw data will tell us how there was such a large number and if actually it was preceded by a doortodoor check We expressed concern over the deletions as ground workers pointed to instances of one individual having 250 forms Such enmasse collective deletion smacks of great suspicion and distrust Abhishek Singhvi said reported the PTIHe added the delegation also raised with the EC how in a short time 47 lakh additions were made between the Lok Sabha and the assembly pollsThe Election Commission states it is 39 lakh That is not a small number You have to establish transparency by showing doortodoor surveys We have asked for the raw data he saidSinghvi said they also flagged how EC data showed the voter turnout at 58 per cent at 5 pm on November 20 and 6502 per cent at 1130 pmTwo days later it was 6605 per cent which is a difference of 7 per cent We have worked it out it is about 76 lakh voters The EC told us that voter turnout is not in real time and Form 17 C will give a matching figure However we want raw data and it begs an explanation how there can be that vast a difference Singhvi saidHe said 118 constituencies of which the BJP won 102 had an additional voter turnout of 25000 compared to the Lok Sabha polls five months agoThis is unnatural We need raw data for it he saidThe EC has promised a pointbypoint explanation and rebuttal in future Singhvi saidThe Congress on November 29 raised with the EC serious and grave inconsistencies that it said were being revealed in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the Maharashtra polls and sought an inperson hearing to present relevant evidenceIn a memorandum to the poll panel AICC Maharashtra incharge Ramesh Chennithala Nana Patole and AICC general secretary Wasnik had said these glaring inconsistencies which struck at the very root of a transparent free and fair electoral system were not based on any biased motive or farfetched presumptions but had been extracted from the information made publicly available by the CommissionIn their memorandum the Congress leaders had said In fact questions relating to Maharashtras voter data have also been raised by a former Chief Election Commissioner hence we are bringing the same to the attention of this CommissionIn the days leading up to the polling day the Indian National Congress and its allies received several groundlevel reports about different means being adopted by the ruling regime to commit largescale electoral fraud across the assembly constituencies in Maharashtra the memorandum saidThe Congress leaders said these included instances of arbitrary deletion of names from the voters list and consequent insertion of roughly 10000 voters per constituency across MaharashtraWith this exercise of unchecked and arbitrary deletion and consequent insertion of voters the state of Maharashtra witnessed an unprecedented increase of an estimated 47 lakh voters being added to the electoral roll from between JulyNovember 2024 the memorandum saidwith PTI inputs