A major political controversy has erupted in Maharashtra after more than 2.06 million voters were excluded from the state's draft electoral list. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party over this massive drop in the voter base, alleging that such strategies are deployed solely to secure political victories at any cost.
Massive Reductions And Official Voter Data
According to the Chief Electoral Officer, following a Special Intensive Revision, 21.14 percent of Maharashtra's previous voter base, translating to over 2.06 million individuals, has failed to make it into the draft voter list. State election officials stated that the draft roll currently features over 7.71 million voters, accounting for 78.86 percent of the previous electoral roll.
The current draft includes 39.5 million male voters, 37.5 million female voters, and 3,087 third-gender voters. Officials explained that 2,06,88,487 people were left out because their enumeration forms could not be collected. The reasons cited include voters being untraceable at their registered addresses, having passed away, or having relocated to different areas.
Rahul Gandhi Highlights Past Discrepancies And Trends
Reacting to these developments, Rahul Gandhi took to the social media platform X to voice his concerns. He alleged that the ruling establishment continuously alters strategies to manipulate outcomes. He pointed out that between the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, nearly 3.9 million new voters had suddenly appeared, which he termed as electoral manipulation.
He further referenced West Bengal, claiming that 91 percent of the names removed during a similar revision process had to be reinstated following appeals, indicating widespread erroneous deletions. Addressing the current situation in Maharashtra, he noted that roughly one in every five voters, amounting to 2.07 million people, has been struck off the draft list. Highlighting the fluctuating numbers across various cycles, including 92.9 million in the 2024 Lok Sabha, 97 million in the 2024 assembly polls, and 77.8 million in the revision, he questioned which of these figures represents the genuine electorate.
District-Wise Breakup And Correction Window
Administrative data reveals that uncollected enumeration forms were heavily concentrated in urban and densely populated districts. Pune recorded the highest number with 2.86 million uncollected forms, followed by Thane with 2.85 million, Mumbai Suburban with 2.65 million, Nagpur with 1.44 million, Nashik with 1.03 million, and Mumbai City with 0.95 million. This uncollectable category comprises individuals absent from their registered addresses, deceased persons, duplicate entries, and those who refused to fill out the forms.
Voters whose names are currently missing from the draft list have been provided a window between August 31 and September 30 to submit claims and objections. Citizens can file Form 6 along with required declarations to include their names, Form 7 to object to any entry, and Form 8 to correct details such as name, age, address, or gender. Electoral registration officers and their assistants will process these submissions between August 31 and October 29, leading up to the final publication of the electoral roll scheduled for November 4.
