25 January,2025 05:28 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. File Pic
The opposition Congress party has accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra of not being "legitimately elected," citing alleged discrepancies in the voters' list during the November 2024 assembly elections, reported news agency PTI.
During a press conference, Praveen Chakravarty, chairperson of Congress' data analytics department, and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
"The government in Maharashtra is not legitimately elected through a fair electoral process. We say this with full responsibility as India's oldest political party and as the only political party that fought for India's freedom and helped establish India as a constitutional republic," Chakravarty said.
Chakravarty pointed out what he termed significant manipulation in voter results, noting that 48 lakh new voters were added to the electoral rolls after the Lok Sabha elections.
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"Forty-eight lakh new voters were added in the electoral rolls in the assembly elections after the Lok Sabha polls, while only 32 lakh voters had been added before the 2019 assembly polls," he said.
"Somehow all these voters seem to have magically voted for one alliance which is the Mahayuti. Does this sound logical...Is this a miraculous coincidence? How does this explain? Is this not strange?" Chakravarty asked.
He further claimed that while the Mahayuti gained 72 lakh more votes in the assembly elections compared to the Lok Sabha polls, only 24 lakh voters shifted away from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA secured 30 out of 48 seats, whereas the Mahayuti won a significant victory in the assembly polls, claiming 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP received 132 seats, the Shiv Sena 57, and the NCP 41.
The Maharashtra Congress has announced statewide protests on Saturday, 25 January, alleging irregularities in the 2024 state assembly elections, news agency PTI reported. The date coincides with the National Voters' Day (NVD), which marks the foundation of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Speaking at a press conference, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Nana Patole said, "The party will hold protests at the district and taluka levels across Maharashtra on January 25. Key leaders of the party will take part in the protests."
Patole also accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ECI of manipulating votes in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, and thereby undermining democracy. He added, "Its conduct in the recent elections has raised serious doubts over its credibility. The BJP and its allies won the [Maharashtra Assembly] election not through honest means but through trickery and deceit. Hence, our party has decided to hold day-long protests across the state."
(With inputs from PTI)
