Latest news with #ElectoralRolls
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Free of cost': EC counters Rahul Gandhi's voter roll demand; says polls details already provided
NEW DELHI: After repeated attacks on the Election Commission by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , the chief electoral officer of Maharashtra on Monday advised the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to download the voter rolls of the Maharashtra legislative elections from its website — "free of cost". Hours after Rahul asked the EC to specify the exact date by which it would furnish the voter rolls, the Commission said it maintains the practice of sharing the details with recognised political parties — first at the draft stage and again after finalisation. "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 the INC — first at the draft stage and again after finalisation. A similar exercise was carried out in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024, and copies of such Electoral Rolls were then shared with the INC as well as other political parties," the EC said in a statement. "A complete copy of the Electoral Roll used in the General Elections to the Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra–2024 is also available on the website for the public to freely download. Even for earlier electoral rolls, a copy of the finalised Electoral Rolls is retained by the District Election Officer. Under Rule 33 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, any person, including the INC, can apply to the concerned District Election Officer and obtain a copy of the retained Electoral Rolls on payment of the prescribed fee. The CEO, Maharashtra, reiterated this statutory position on 22nd May 2025 to a Hon'ble Member of Parliament from the INC who sought a copy of electoral rolls that had already been provided to the INC during revisions in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024," it added. Earlier, Rahul had asked the Election Commission to specify the exact date by which it would furnish the voter rolls of the Maharashtra and Haryana legislative elections. In a social media post on X, Rahul welcomed the EC's decision and said, "Good first step taken by EC to hand over voter rolls." "Can the EC please announce the exact date by which this data will be handed over in a digital, machine-readable format?" he asked. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also shared a screenshot of a media report claiming that the EC had cleared the way for sharing electoral-roll data for Haryana and Maharashtra from 2009 to 2024, following an assurance it gave to the Delhi High Court earlier this year. This development came a day after Rahul, in an article, outlined a "step-by-step manipulation" of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. "My article shows how this happened, step by step: Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi wrote in a post on X. "It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing — the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence, judge for themselves, and demand answers," Gandhi had said. "Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing," the Leader of Opposition claimed. Later, the poll body issued a statement calling Rahul's allegations of "match-fixing" in the electoral process "completely absurd." "The entire nation is aware that each election process — including the preparation of electoral rolls, polling, and counting — is held by government staff, and that too in the presence of authorised representatives formally appointed by political parties/candidates from polling station up to constituency level," the EC said. "Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards the law, but also brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections," it added. "After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised is completely absurd," the statement by the ECI read. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP won 235 of the 288 seats, with BJP securing 132 alone. Shinde's Sena secured 57 seats, and Ajit Pawar's NCP got 41 seats. On the other hand, it was a disappointing show by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which had hoped for a grand comeback. Uddhav's Sena got 20 seats, Congress 16, and Sharad Pawar's NCP secured 10 seats.
Hans India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
EC gives point-by-point rebuttal to Rahul's claims on Maharashtra poll percentage and electoral rolls
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday came out with a point-by-point rebuttal to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's 'baseless' and 'unwarranted' claims over Maharashtra Assembly elections and the alleged discrepancy in voters list. The EC's rebuttal comes a day after Rahul Gandhi, while being on foreign soil, stated that the poll body was compromised and cited an example of the Maharashtra elections to buttress his claims. He questioned the EC's 'reasoning' of 65 lakh votes being cast in the last two hours of polling and termed it 'physically impossible.' The EC on Tuesday shared facts and data pertaining to Maharashtra elections, to deflate and debunk Congress MP's claims. About 58 lakh voters polled per hour The EC informed that during the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, a total of 6,40,87,588 electors reached the polling station from 7 am to 6 pm and cast their votes. About 58 lakh votes were polled per hour, on average. Further, rejecting his claims of 65 lakh votes in the last two hours as an 'impossible task', it said, 'Going by these average trends, nearly 116 Lakh voters could have voted in last two hours. Therefore, casting of 65 lakhs votes by electors in two hours is much below the average hourly voting trends,' it said. INC candidates/agents didn't raise any alarm The EC further informed that the polling progressed in every polling booth, in front of the polling agents, formally appointed by candidates/political parties. 'Congress's nominated candidates or their authorised agents didn't raise any substantiated allegations with regards to any kind of abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny before the Returning Officer (RO) and the Election Observers on the next day,' it said. Electoral rolls as per established norms Dismissing Congress's charges on electoral rolls, the poll body said that the voters list in the country, including Maharashtra, was prepared as per the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. 'As per law, either just before the elections and/or once every year, Special Summary Revision of the Electoral Rolls is conducted and a final copy of the Electoral Rolls is handed over to all the national/state political parties, including Indian National Congress (INC),' it added. Only 89 appeals against 9 crore voters The EC states that after finalisation of Electoral Rolls during Maharashtra elections, as against 9,77,90,752 electors, only a total of 89 appeals were filed before the 1st appellate authority (DM), and only 1 appeal was filed before the 2nd appellate authority (CEO). 'It therefore makes it clear that there was no grievance of the INC or any other political parties before the conduct of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024,' it said. EC officials explained that Congress ignored facts The Election Commission also said that it had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on December 24, 2024, which is available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are being completely ignored while raising such issues again and again. 'During the revision of Electoral Rolls, for 1,00,427 polling booths, along with 97,325 Booth Level Officers appointed by the EROs, 1,03,727 Booth Level Agents were also appointed by all political parties, including 27,099 by the INC. Therefore, these unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law,' the EC said in a statement. Besides refuting the charges, the poll body also slammed the Congress party for spreading misinformation and called it an affront and insult to the rule of law. 'Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards law, but also brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections,' it said. Taking strong exception to Rahul's 'EC compromised' remarks, it said that such remarks are aimed at defaming the poll body, which is completely absurd.
