Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar
Credit: YouTube/Election Commission of India
New Delhi: A day after Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar once again rebutted allegations of addition of voters in electoral rolls, Congress on Wednesday claimed that the Election Commission appeared to have enrolled more voters in Maharashtra than the adult population as estimated in a report of the Narendra Modi government and said that it quashed the claims of the poll body of having robust processes.
In a statement, Congress Data Analytics Department Chairperson Praveen Chakravarty referred to a 2019 report of National Commission on Population of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which estimated the adult population of Maharashtra to be 9.54 crore in 2024.
However, he said, the EC had enrolled 9.70 crore voters for the Assembly elections held in November last year. "That is, the Election Commission seems to have enrolled 16 lakh more electors than the entire adult population in Maharashtra, as estimated by the Narendra Modi government," he said.
"Even if estimates vary, is it possible that the EC has registered 100 per cent or more of all eligible voters in a state? Our analysis of other states shows that on average only 90 per cent of eligible population are enrolled as electors by EC. How is it that for Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha alone, the EC enrolled 100 per cent or more?" he said.
Chakravarty further claimed that Aadhaar enrolment data in Maharashtra also reinforced their claim that the EC’s total voter enrolment in Maharashtra may be higher than the total adult population. The Congress had earlier complained about the addition of around 50 lakh voters in just four months ahead of the Assembly elections.
"While all the other questions that we raised in our earlier letter dated 10 December, 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 said.
"It is in the interest of the nation’s democracy and strengthening voters' trust that the CEC, rather than grandstanding and hiding behind flowery poetry, should acknowledge the uncomfortable truth and take remedial actions and steps as a dutiful public servant," he added.
While announcing the poll schedule for Delhi Assembly elections, Kumar insisted that the process is "transparent, rigorous, and immune to arbitrary changes". No deletion can occur without thorough documentation, field verification, and giving the concerned individual an opportunity to be heard, he said adding, if it is the case of a person passing away, the death certificate is needed.