Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Sep 12: Constituencies held by opposition parties in Maharashtra recorded a higher proportion of excluded or anomaly-ridden electors than those held by the ruling Mahayuti alliance during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to data from the Election Commission of India.
As many as 20.7 million electors were left out of Maharashtra's draft electoral roll during the exercise. The exclusion rate was 22.17% across the 52 constituencies held by the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), compared with 20.94% across the 236 constituencies held by the Mahayuti. The difference of 1.23 percentage points translates to more than 120,000 electors.
The gap was narrower among electors whose details contained anomalies, including discrepancies in names and ages. Such voters accounted for 6.54% of electors in MVA-held constituencies and 6.35% in Mahayuti-held seats.
Overall, 6.2 million electors were identified as having anomalies in their details. Of these, around 5.1 million were from constituencies held by the ruling alliance, while 1.1 million belonged to opposition-held constituencies.
The pattern was reversed in the case of unmapped electors. They accounted for 6.12% of voters in Mahayuti-held constituencies compared with 6.04% in MVA-held constituencies. Of the 5.97 million unmapped electors, around 4.95 million were from ruling-alliance constituencies and 1.02 million from opposition-held constituencies.
The difference was more pronounced in Mumbai, where the Mahayuti controls 22 of the city's 36 constituencies. Around 35.85% of electors were left out of the draft roll in opposition-held constituencies, compared with 34.08% in Mahayuti-held seats, a difference of 1.77 percentage points.
The proportion of electors with anomalies stood at 7.4% in opposition-held constituencies against 6.25% in Mahayuti constituencies. However, unmapped electors constituted a larger share in Mahayuti-held constituencies at 14.16%, compared with 12.2% in opposition-held seats.
The figures have triggered concerns among opposition parties, which have accused the Election Commission of a lack of transparency and alleged that lists containing details of electors with anomalies and unmapped names have not been shared with political parties.
Congress general secretary Sandesh Konvilkar said the percentage of deletions was high in opposition-held constituencies and could affect the party's electoral prospects.
"There are cases where it directly impacts our winning prospects in elections," he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said the deletion of more than 120,000 additional electors from opposition-held constituencies was significant, particularly in seats that had previously been decided by narrow margins.
He said his party was identifying voters whose names had been deleted, whose details contained anomalies or whose records remained unmapped, and would work to ensure that eligible voters were re-registered on the electoral rolls.
Parab also alleged that exclusions were higher in some Muslim-dominated areas, attributing the situation partly to booth-level officers not reaching out to voters. However, he acknowledged that deletions were also higher in some Hindu-dominated areas.
According to Parab, enumeration, mapping and verification were carried out more effectively in areas where booth-level officers worked efficiently or local political leaders were active. He also argued that ruling parties such as the BJP had an advantage because of their greater resources and the appointment of an agency for the SIR process.
The BJP rejected the allegation that opposition constituencies were disproportionately affected.
Sudhir Deulgaokar, a BJP leader overseeing the party's SIR process, said the exercise was being conducted transparently by the Election Commission, with meetings held with political parties from time to time.
He said it would be unfair to conclude that deleted or anomaly-ridden electors were higher in opposition constituencies, pointing out that the process provided political parties and voters an opportunity to ensure that eligible electors were registered.
The SIR exercise has become a politically sensitive issue in Maharashtra, with the opposition seeking greater transparency in the handling of deleted, unmapped and anomaly-ridden voter records, while the ruling alliance has defended the electoral revision process.