Expert deletes post on Maharashtra voters amid 'vote chori' row, faces BJP fire

Prominent psephologist and co-director of Lokniti-CSDS, Sanjay Kumar, has ignited a political storm after deleting a post on X where he reported a massive surge in voter numbers in two Maharashtra assembly constituencies—Nashik West and Hingna—between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Kumar shared the data that was seen as lending credence to the Congress' allegations of 'vote chori' (vote theft) in Maharashtra, which has been amplified by its leader Rahul Gandhi.

Kumar shared the data in a post on X on August 17 but went on to delete it. He claimed voter increases of 47.38% in Nashik West and 43.08% in Hingna.

"I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 Lok Sabha and 2024 Assembly. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.

The incident has amplified the ongoing controversy over alleged voter roll manipulation, which the Congress claims was carried out in collusion with the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, in turn, slammed Kumar as "reckless" and accused him of fuelling the Opposition’s narrative of electoral fraud.

BJP leader Amit Malviya has said that "it was hardly an honest error".

"In his exuberance to feed the Congress's fake narrative on Maharashtra, CSDS put out data without verification. That is not analysis — it is confirmation bias. It's time we start taking the sanctimonious sermons of the likes of Sanjay Kumar and Yogendra Yadav with not just a pinch, but a sack of salt," Malviya posted on X.

The Congress-led Opposition has been alleging manipulation of electoral rolls amid the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election in the state later this year. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been alleging electoral fraud in Maharashtra since the INDIA bloc's drubbing in the state in the Assembly polls in 2024.

In a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi used data from the Mahaevpura Assembly segment in Kanataka to allege manipulation of electoral rolls by the Election Commission at the BJP's behest. He termed it "vote chori" or theft of votes to benefit the BJP, and showcased it as an example of the "fraud" being committed across India.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on August 17 held a press conference where he refuted the "vote chori" claims without naming Rahul Gandhi.

Sanjay Kumar's post on X with the data on Maharashtra came on August 17, just after the CEC's press conference, going by the screenshot being shared. This data from a psephologist gave ammunition to the Opposition, especially the Congress, to counter the EC officials.

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