Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (PTI) Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said he had noticed large-scale irregularities in the voter list while reviewing changes in Maharashtra during his tenure as the Congress’ organisational in-charge of the state.
In a Facebook post, Chennithala said 39 lakh new voters had been added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls within five months of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, within just five months, 39 lakh new voters were added in Maharashtra. When I examined the figures constituency-wise, this anomaly was clear to me. In the last five years, only 32 lakh people had been added to the state’s total voter population,” he said.
Chennithala said he brought the findings to the Congress’ national leadership after realising that the issue was not confined to Maharashtra but was a serious national concern affecting every citizen’s right to vote.
He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took up the issue and highlighted it nationally as a political campaign under the slogan ‘Vote Chori’ (Vote theft).
Chennithala also expressed concern over changes in the draft electoral roll released as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Maharashtra.
“Today, the new changes that have come in the SIR draft list in Maharashtra are also raising serious concerns. There is only one question here: Is the people’s vote safe,” he asked.
He said maximum transparency must be ensured in the electoral process.
“Vote is sovereignty,” Chennithala said, adding that the Congress party would strongly resist any attempt to undermine the people’s right to vote. PTI TBA TBA KH
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