‘7,000 new voters, one Shirdi building’: Was Rahul Gandhi right?

“When we archetypal received the ailment from a governmental party, we informed the Election Commission (EC) astir the reality. The summation of voters from a centre successful question was astir 3,000 voters. There are acquisition institutions successful the Loni country and the caller voters are students from hostels of 1 of those institutions,” Ahilyanagar District Collector Siddharam Salimath said.

The verification process for these electors was thorough, helium said, adding: “If a idiosyncratic is supra 18 years of age, helium oregon she tin take wherever to ballot from with the indispensable documents. Since the students are residing successful hostels, the assemblage admittance papers are taken arsenic residence proof.”

The authoritative said that earlier the electoral rolls were published, governmental parties had been called to taxable objections oregon suggestions if any. “We besides cross-checked whether determination were immoderate cases of voters being registered twice, and didn’t find any,” Salimath said.

In the Assembly polls held successful November past year, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the BJP had won from the Shirdi seat, defeating the Congress’s Prabhavati Ghogre. A erstwhile Congress person with Shirdi arsenic his bastion, Vikhe-Patil discontinue the enactment to articulation the BJP successful 2019, and is present Irrigation Minister successful the Maharashtra government.

During the statement connected the Motion of Thanks to the President’s code successful the Lok Sabha Monday, Gandhi talked astir “threat” to law institutions and went connected to notation “the summation of 70 lakh voters” successful the 5 months betwixt the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2024 Assembly polls successful Maharashtra.

Gandhi past gave the circumstantial illustration of the Shirdi Assembly constituency. “On the code of 1 gathering successful Shirdi, astir 7,000 caller voters were added aft the Lok Sabha polls,” helium said.

Earlier, connected November 29, six days aft the Maharashtra Assembly predetermination results were announced, the Congress had written to the EC and a delegation had besides met the committee to rise what it called a “shocking” 13% summation successful the fig of voters successful the authorities since the Lok Sabha polls held 5 months earlier.

The Congress had sought “raw data” from the EC connected the 39 lakh voters added to the rolls.

In its effect connected December 24, the EC had said 48,81,620 voters had been added to electoral rolls and 8,00,391 deleted, starring to a nett summation of 40,81,229 voters betwixt the 2 elections. The EC noted that since those who are 18 years oregon supra arsenic connected January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of each twelvemonth are eligible to enrol, 8,72,094 electors of the 18-19 property radical and 17,74,514 electors of the 20-29 years property radical were added.

“Thus, 26,46,608 young electors falling successful the property radical of 18-29 were added retired of the full summation of 40,81,229 electors during the period… Thus, the additions made during the play successful a ample authorities similar Maharashtra person nary disposable abnormal trend,” the EC had said.

Gandhi’s allegation astir 7,000 voters being registered from 1 gathering code aligns with a ailment filed by the section Congress committee successful August 2024, earlier the finalisation of the electoral roll. But, astatine that time, Pankaj Londhe, the president of the Rahata tehsil Congress committee, had complained astir “bogus voters” being registered from “specific areas of Shirdi” and not 1 gathering address.