Mumbai, September 2: The political landscape in Maharashtra is heating up following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of ‘vote theft’ related to the draft voter list. The ruling party and the opposition are now at odds over these claims. While the opposition backs Gandhi’s statements, the ruling party dismisses them as unfounded.
Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha from the RJD expressed his support for Gandhi’s accusations. He stated, “Rahul Gandhi is referring to Maharashtra, but I will talk about Bengal. There, millions of people were left out and could not vote. Now, many of them are being added back to the voter list, claiming they had all the necessary documents but still could not cast their votes. Should I call this theft, or is there a better term like robbery or fraud? This is happening with institutional support. Someday, these issues will be uncovered, and the guilty will be punished.”
In response, BJP leader Manmeet Singh from Hyderabad countered Gandhi’s claims. He explained that the Special Electoral Roll (SER) process is standard, involving the removal of deceased voters and the adjustment of names for those who have changed residences. He criticized Gandhi’s characterization of this process as vote theft. Singh remarked, “The ‘young’ Rahul Gandhi has once again claimed that two crore votes have been removed in Maharashtra. He has targeted the Election Commission, alleging that the SER has led to the removal of these votes.”
Singh further clarified that the SER process ensures that a voter’s registration reflects their current residence. If a person moves for work to Maharashtra, their vote remains there. If they shift from one location to another, they cannot vote in both places, leading to the removal of their name from the voter list. Additionally, deceased individuals are also removed from the list, which accounts for the number of names cut during the SER process.
Meanwhile, BJP’s chief spokesperson in Ranchi, Pratul Shah Dev, also rejected Gandhi’s assertions. He stated, “The SER is a constitutional process conducted by the Election Commission, authorized by the Constitution. A draft list has been published in Maharashtra. Anyone with objections can register them. Rahul Gandhi should clarify; he made similar claims in Bihar about vote theft and large-scale removals from the voter list. How many people actually registered objections? There are many infiltrators, yet they question where the infiltrators are. Who are those refusing to sign the enumeration forms?”
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