New Delhi [India], June 24 : The Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dismissed allegations by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, over alleged manipulation of the voter list in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's constituency, calling the claims "hypocritical" and "desperate."
In a statement, BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban cited data from the Election Commission (EC), pointing out that the number of voters in Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad constituency rose from 13,57,819 in 2019 to 14,62,423 in 2024, with an increase of 7.7%. In contrast, Nagpur South-West, Fadnavis's constituency, saw a 6.99% increase over the same period.
"So, when voter numbers increase in Wayanad, it's called "democracy", but when it happens in Maharashtra, it's termed 'theft"? What kind of logic is that?" BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban asked.
He further stated that an increase of 5% to 8% in areas like Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur is natural due to migration and the addition of first-time voters.
"In areas like Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur in Maharashtra, due to migration and first-time voters, an increase of 5% to 8% is natural. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi's allegation is simply a blatant example of hypocrisy. When voter numbers increase in your constituency, it's due to "aware voters"...But when it happens in Maharashtra, they are "fake voters"?" it questioned
"This isn't vote theft, it's truth theft. And Rahul Gandhi is its chief architect. Also, go ahead and publish detailed statistics of how badly Congress was defeated in elections under your leadership!" the release stated.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has sharply rebutted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's accusation that the voter list in his constituency was manipulated, calling it a desperate claim stemming from Congress's defeat in the state.
Responding to Gandhi's post on X, Fadnavis wrote, "Jhoot boley kawa kaatey, Kaaley Kawaey se daryo... Rahul Gandhi, it's clear that the sting of your party's humiliating defeat in Maharashtra is growing deeper by the day."
He dismissed the claim of manipulation, citing multiple assembly segments across Maharashtra that saw similar or higher voter growth, yet were won by Congress or its allies.
"How long will you keep shooting arrows in the dark? For your information, there are over 25 assembly segments in Maharashtra where the number of voters increased by more than 8% between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and in several of these, Congress won."
Fadnavis highlighted that over 25 assembly segments in Maharashtra recorded voter increases exceeding 8%, with Congress and its allies securing wins in several. He cited West Nagpur, with a 7% rise (27,065 voters), won by Congress's Vikas Thakre; North Nagpur, with a 7% increase (29,348 voters), won by Congress's Nitin Raut; Vadgaon Sheri in Pune, with a 10% jump (50,911 voters), won by Sharad Pawar faction's Bapu Pathare; Malad West, with an 11% surge (38,625 voters), won by Congress's Aslam Shaikh; and Mumbra, with a 9% increase (46,041 voters), won by Sharad Pawar faction's Jitendra Awhad.
"It would have been better had you spoken to your party colleagues, people like Aslam Shaikh, Vikas Thakre, and Nitin Raut, before putting out this tweet. At the very least, such a glaring lack of communication within Congress wouldn't have been so publicly exposed," he added.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) invited the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for an interaction to discuss the issues related to his allegation on the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year, sources said on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the letter was sent via email on June 12 and was also received at his residence.
The former Congress President has recently raised allegations against the poll body of "election rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls. However, ECI has rejected the allegations.
Gandhi has further raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, citing the destruction of evidence as a potential indicator of election rigging against the backdrop of the Election Commission's (EC) revised guidelines on preserving video footage and photographs of elections, reducing the retention period to 45 days.