Total eligible voters in Maharashtra crossed adult population tally: Congress

NEW DELHI: With the Election Commission rubbishing doubts raised by the opposition over the inclusion of 50 lakh voters in four months in Maharashtra, Congress on Wednesday alleged the total eligible voters in the state during the assembly polls exceeded its adult population projected by the Modi govt. It said even a 100% voter registration in the state would be unprecedented and suspect.

A day earlier, the CEC had asserted that the voter addition process is foolproof to prevent fake voter additions, in response to complaints from Congress and other opposition parties.

Congress data analytics department chief Praveen Chakravarty said, "We have a simple one line response to the CEC - if the process is so robust, how is it that the total eligible electors in Maharashtra seems to be more than the total adult population as estimated by the Modi govt's own report?" He said the Nov 2019 report of the National Commission on Population of the health and family welfare ministry projected Maharashtra's estimated adult population in 2024 at 9.5 crore, while the EC stated that the total enrolled electors for Maharashtra polls was 9.7 crore. Aadhaar enrolment data also reinforces the fact that voters exceeded the population, he said.

"The EC seems to have enrolled 16 lakh more voters than the entire adult population in Maharashtra. Even if estimates vary, is it possible that the EC has registered 100% or more of all eligible voters in a state?" he asked.

Chakravarty said analysis of other states shows that on an average, only 90% of eligible population are enrolled as electors by the EC. "While all the other questions that we raised in our letter dated Dec 10, 2024, about mysterious addition of new voters remain unanswered, just this one simple datapoint that the EC may have registered more electors than adult population quashes the CEC's claim that the process of voter addition and deletion is very robust and unquestionable," he argued.