Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 7 : Amid Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "voter fraud" in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has asked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to submit a sworn affidavit and provide specific evidence of alleged inclusion or deletion of electors from the voter rolls.
The Maharashtra CEO's letter cites Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which allows for a registration officer to ask the claimant to submit proof under oath regarding any objections and claims.
"It is understood that during a Press Conference held today, you had mentioned about the inclusion of ineligible electors and exclusion of eligible electors in the Electoral Rolls...You are kindly requested to sign and return the enclosed Declaration/Oath along with the name(s) of such elector(s) so that necessary proceedings can be initiated," the CEO's letter to Rahul Gandhi said.
The CEO also reiterated that the electoral rolls were "prepared in a transparent manner," and noted that both the draft and final electoral rolls were shared with the Congress in August and September 2024.
"The electoral rolls were shared in August 2024 and September 2024, and the party did not file any appeals during that time," the CEO added.
A similar notice was issued by the Karnataka CEO earlier in the day, asking Rahul Gandhi to submit an affidavit and supporting evidence of his claims of large-scale voter fraud in the Mahadevpur segment of the Lok Sabha constituency.
During a press conference here in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi had slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) and alleged that the polls are "choreographed."
As he reiterated his claims of fake voters being added before the Maharashtra assembly elections, he said that the number of voters added to the list in the five months ahead of the polls was more than the people added in the last five years.
"Maharashtra, we weren't able to tell the logic behind it. In Maharashtra and Haryana, we saw it right in front of our faces. We said publicly and told the EC that more voters were added in five months than in five years in Maharashtra. More voters than the entire population of Maharashtra," Rahul Gandhi said.
"Huge jump in voter turnout after 5 pm. Our alliance got wiped out while the alliance swept in the Lok Sabha. At the state level, between Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, one crore voters came in," he added.
Earlier, on June 12, the Election Commission had invited the Leader of the Opposition for an interaction regarding "rigging" in Maharashtra Assembly elections, which he raised in a write-up that he wrote for a newspaper on June 7. He had claimed that the same would be repeated in the Bihar assembly polls due later this year.
In its letter, the poll body stated, "We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates. However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us, and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues."