Copies of revised electoral rolls shared with Congress in 2024: Maharashtra Chief Electoral Office

Mumbai: The Chief Electoral Office in Maharashtra said on Monday that annually revised electoral rolls were provided to Congress and other parties at the draft and final stages in 2024 and on previous occasions under a participatory exercise.

The statement comes amid a row triggered by allegations of "match-fixing" in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections raised by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in a newspaper article.

In a post on X, the Chief Electoral Office in Maharashtra stated that electoral rolls are revised annually through a participatory exercise.

"During this annual exercise, the electoral rolls are shared, free of cost, with recognised political parties, including INC, first at the draft stage and second time after its finalisation. A similar exercise was done in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024 and copies of such electoral rolls were then shared with INC, as well as with other political parties."

"A complete copy of electoral roll used in general elections to Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra-2024 is also available on the website for the public to freely download," it said.

It said even for earlier electoral rolls, a copy of the finalised electoral rolls is retained by the district election officer as well.

"Under Rule 33 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, any person, including INC, can apply to the concerned District Election Officer and get a copy of such retained electoral rolls, on payment of prescribed fee," it added.

The post said the chief electoral officer of Maharashtra had reiterated this statutory position on May 22 to a Member of Parliament of the Congress, who had sought a copy of the electoral rolls that were already provided to the INC at the time of the revision in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.

In an article published in The Indian Express, Rahul Gandhi had alleged "match-fixing" in the Maharashtra polls and claimed that it would next happen in the Bihar election and "anywhere the BJP is losing".