Same electors voted multiple times in Maha polls: Chavan

NEW DELHI: Congress's allegation about a suspicious surge in the number of voters in the Maharashtra assembly elections took a new turn Monday when party veteran Prithviraj Chavan told the leadership that the spike was possibly on account of multiple registration and voting by same voters.

Former CM Chavan, giving data of his constituency, claimed the same voters were found to have voted multiple times in different polling booths. He alleged the trick was pulled off by erasing the ink that is dabbed on the finger after the casting of vote.

Given data presented by Chavan, sources said, the party is likely to scrutinise polling lists and records of other constituencies.

The data was presented in a meeting of senior state functionaries.

A senior neta said Rahul Gandhi's charge that there was an increase of 41 lakh voters between 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls five months later is correct, but crucial to the conundrum is who were these new voters. "How was it done? Are they BJP workers? We have to crack this," he added.

With the upcoming local body elections, the state leaders gave the Congress brass a mixed view on whether to continue with the Maha Vikas Aghadi and contest jointly with Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), or to go it alone.

Mumbai netas are learnt to have demanded that Congress contest the BMC polls separately, arguing that Sena (UBT) votes do not shift to Congress in a pact.


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