Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls of Maharashtra published in early January. In a statement, ECI that only 89 appeals for changes with the district election office and only one with the chief electoral office were filed against 9.7 crore registration voters.
EC said the controversy began after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha, alleging improper addition of more than 30 lakh voters between 2019 and 2024 in Maharashtra and duplication of elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers. TMC and AAP made similar allegations about Delhi’s voter list.
EC reiterated that duplication of EPIC numbers did not necessarily indicate duplicate or fake voters. EC said it also released data on the total electors and the booth-level agents from political parties in the country. The commission pointed out that the Representation of People Act 1950, which offers mechanisms to correct electoral roll entries, has been in place since Sept 20, 1961.
While electoral rolls undergo updates through the year, the ECI said it conducts an annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise, specifically between October and December, with the final revised rolls published in January. For states and union territories scheduled for elections, it said additional SSR drives were conducted before the polling dates.