With 2.07 crore of 9.78 crore electors in Maharashtra being deleted in draft rolls during Special Intensive Revisions (SIR), Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP and the "Vote Chori Aayog" of continually changing their tactics to ensure "BJP’s victory at any cost."
“"The BJP and the ‘Vote Chori Aayog’ keep changing their tactics, and they will continue to do so — the goal remains just one: BJP’s victory at any cost, and the end of India’s democracy," Gandhi stated in a post on X.
Gandhi, who has repeatedly targeted the Election Commission over the last two years, referred to the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in 2024, saying,
“"Maharashtra 2024 — Suddenly, 3.9 million new voters were added between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. I said it then, and I say it today: This was vote theft."
He also mentioned the West Bengal SIR before the Assembly polls, which saw the BJP storming to power. He noted that of the names struck off in the SIR, 91% had to be reinstated after appeals, indicating that nine out of every ten names were wrongly deleted.
“"I said it then, and I say it today: This was vote theft," he reiterated.
Gandhi highlighted that now in Maharashtra, 2.07 crore voters have been removed from the draft list, equating to one in five voters. He questioned the accuracy of the electoral lists:
