'Vote theft': Rahul Gandhi alleges voter list manipulation in Devendra Fadnavis' constituency; Maharashtra CM hits back

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha , Rahul Gandhi , alleged significant voter list irregularities in Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis 's constituency, citing an eight per cent increase within five months, which he termed as " vote theft ".

Gandhi shared a news article on X, calling for the release of digital voter rolls and CCTV footage . He noted that Booth Level Officers reported unauthorised voting in Nagpur South West, where Fadnavis secured victory with a margin exceeding 38,000 votes.

Additionally, media investigations revealed numerous voters without verified addresses.

"In Maharashtra CM's constituency, the voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months. Some booths saw a 20-50% surge," Gandhi said on X.

In Maharashtra CM’s own constituency, the voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months.

Some booths saw a 20-50% surge.

BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes.

Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address.

And the EC? Silent - or complicit.

These aren’t… pic.twitter.com/32q9dflfB9

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 24, 2025

"BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes. Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address," the Rae Bareli MP added.

"And the EC? Silent - or complicit. These aren't isolated glitches. This is vote theft. The cover-up is the confession," he alleged.

CM Devendra Fadnavis hits back at Rahul Gandhi

Fadnavis in his post on social media said there are several assembly constituencies where voters went up by 8% and candidates from the Congress were elected.

Replying to Gandhi's post on X, Fadnavis sai, "Jhuth bole kauwa kaate koi kavwe se dariyo" (The crow bites when you lie, Fear the black crow)

He cited the examples of West Nagpur assembly constituency where voters went up by 7% (27065) and Congress candidate Vikas Thakare was elected, North Nagpur went up by 7% (29,348) and Congress ’ Nitin Raut won the election. Similarly in Pune district Wadgaon city voters went up by 10% (50,911) and NCP(SP) candidate Bapusaheb Pathare won.

Fadnavis said that in Malad West it went up by 11% (38,625) and Congress’ Aslam Shaikh won. In Mumbra it went up by 9% (46,041) and NCP(SP) candidate Jitendra Awhad won.

"Even if not with allied parties, it would have been better if you had spoken to your own party’s long-time associates like Aslam Shaikh, Vikas Thakre, and Nitin Raut before this tweet.At least the Congress wouldn’t have performed so poorly due to a lack of communication…" Fadnavis said in a post on X.

All polls held as per law: EC tells Rahul

Gandhi's demands came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.

In a letter emailed to him on June 12 in response to his article written in a leading daily, the EC has said the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the assembly constituency level, which involved more than 1,00,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROS) appointed by the Comrnission.

"We presume that any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law (high court) by the INC candidates," it told the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.

"However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues," the poll authority said.