Rahul Gandhi asks ECI to provide data, claims 70 lakh voters added in Maharashtra between Lok Sabha and Assembly polls

Rahul Gandhi accuses Election Commission of adding 70 lakh voters in Maharashtra, demands data transparency for Opposition parties.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday (February 3, 2025) alleged that about 70 lakh voters, equivalent to Himachal Pradesh's population, were added to the electoral rolls in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and State elections, and demanded the Election Commission of India (ECI) furnish data to opposition parties in the state.

Speaking to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Mr. Gandhi raised several questions over the integrity of the Maharashtra polls held in November last year in which the BJP-led Mahayuti won a massive mandate, and said he was confident the EC would not provide the details sought by the Opposition parties.

With a copy of the Constitution in hand, Mr. Gandhi said this is supported by the "vote of our people and without a secure vote, the Constitution means nothing".

"Now, I want to bring to the notice of this House some data about Maharashtra polls. Between the Lok Sabha polls, which the INDIA bloc won, and the assembly elections, the number equivalent to the population of Himachal was added to the voting rolls of Maharashtra," Mr. Gandhi told the House, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance.

Mr. Gandhi claimed that the difference between the Lok Sabha polls in June and the state polls in November was that almost 70 lakh voters suddenly arriving.

"More voters were added in Maharashtra in five months between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls than in five years," the former Congress president said.

Citing an example, he claimed that in a building in Shirdi, about 7,000 new voters were added after the Lok Sabha polls.