The Maha Vikas Aghadi is still coming to grips with its massive defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections held last November.Now, as February unfolds , its frustration is becoming more apparent. The alliance has repeatedly levelled accusations against the ruling party to deflect attention from its own mistakes. Rahul Gandhi, in particular, has been raising concerns about discrepancies in Maharashtra's voter list, alleging that more voters were added in the five months between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. But, it is now the time to burst this bubble

Rahul Gandhi’s changing claims on voter discrepancies

On January 18 in Bihar, the Rae Bareli MP claimed a discrepancy of nearly one crore voters between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra. By February 3, his claim shifted, alleging that nearly 70 lakh voters were suddenly added between the same period – Lok Sabha polls in June and the State elections in November, a number he equated to the population of Himachal Pradesh. Three days later, in a press conference with his Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP allies, he revised the figure yet again, stating that more than 39 lakh voters were added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls in just five months — ironically, a number equivalent to the entire voter population of Himachal Pradesh. His ever-changing claims speak more about the accuracy of Maharashtra’s voter list.

But still, let us take a look at what happened during the previous elections in Maharashtra..

Historical data on voter additions debunks his claims

The increase of 39 lakh voters in five months in 2024 between the General and Assembly elections is hardly surprising. This is because similar increases were seen in previous years: 27 lakh in 2014, 30 lakh in 2009, and 29 lakh in 2004. Interestingly, in both 2009 and 2004, the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre, and responsible for holding free and fair elections .

(In the figures below, GE means General Elections and AE means Assembly Elections)

Vote difference still favours (Favors) Mahayuti

Let us assume, for a moment, that there was indeed a discrepancy in the voter list. The vote difference between Mahayuti and MVA is at 92 lakh. Even if we accept by Rahul Gandhi’s claim that 39 lakh additional voters were added, the gap remains significant. Subtracting 39 lakh from the 92 lakh difference still leaves a lead of 52 lakh votes, meaning Mahayuti was still far well ahead of MVA, making his argument irrelevant to the overall outcome.

 

Voter growth trends over Assembly Elections

Now, let us address Rahul Gandhi’s next allegation, that more voters were added in the five months between the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections than in the five years before. According to him, Maharashtra's electoral rolls saw an increase of 32 lakh voters between the 2019 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while 39 lakh new voters were added between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in just five months.

To fact-check this claim, let us examine voter additions from previous Assembly elections. Combining the figures that he cited — 32 lakh and 39 lakh — yields a total of 71 lakh new voters. But has such growth occurred in the past?

The data shows that between the 2014 and 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, 63 lakh voters were added. Similarly, between the 2009 and 2014 elections, 75 lakh voters were added. Going further back, between the 2004 and 2009 elections, Maharashtra's voter rolls grew by a staggering 1 crore. The pattern of voter additions is consistent, debunking yet another one of his claims.

Gandhi and his false claims

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission “refused to provide us a voter list” of the Maharashtra Election. However, the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra had already clarified in detail to the party that the Congress party was (had been) informed and that the copies of the draft rolls, along with claims and objections, were provided to the party “in all the constituencies in Maharashtra” and that party representatives had participated in the revision of electoral rolls at various stages, till the finalisation of electoral rolls.

The officer also pointed out that Rule 22 (c) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 already provides that the Electoral Registration Officer supply free of cost two copies of the finally published electoral roll to every recognised party's representatives. The same is 'uniformly followed in the entire country'. This is yet another fake claim by Rahul Gandhi against the EC.