Congress Alleges Massive Voter List Irregularities in Madhya Pradesh
The Congress party has raised serious questions about the sanctity of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election results. The party's concerns stem from a recent Summary Revision of the electoral roll conducted by the State's Electoral Office, which led to the deletion of a staggering 43 lakh voters. Additionally, the party has flagged another 8 lakh voters listed as 'unmapped'. This brings the total number of disputed entries to 51 lakh.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma highlighted this issue during a press conference at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) headquarters in Bhopal. He pointed out that this figure of 51 lakh 'fake' votes far exceeds the BJP's victory margin of 32 lakh votes across the state, casting a long shadow over the legitimacy of the election outcome.
Constituencies Where Deletions Surpassed Victory Margins
Verma provided specific examples of constituencies where the scale of voter deletions was larger than the margin of defeat for Congress candidates. This, he argued, directly impacted the results. The key constituencies named were:
- Rau: Contested by Jitu Patwari.
- Surkhi: Contested by Govind Singh Rajput.
- Govindpura: Contested by Krishna Gaur.
- Narela: Contested by Vishwas Sarang.
In these seats, the number of voters removed from the rolls was higher than the vote difference by which the Congress candidates lost. This forms the core of the party's allegation that the electoral process was compromised.
Criticism of Hasty Revision and Administrative Burden
The Congress leader strongly criticized the decision to conduct the Summary Revision (SIR) in eight states, including Madhya Pradesh, despite the next elections being relatively distant. Verma claimed this rushed process placed an immense and unfair burden on Booth Level Officers (BLOs), tragically leading to reports of deaths and suicides among these grassroots election officials.
Furthermore, he alleged that this early revision has strategically provided the Election Commission and the ruling BJP with ample time to manipulate the voter rolls further. The next summary revision is due only six months before the subsequent election, creating a window for potential manipulation.
Adding to these concerns, J P Dhanopia, the PCC's Election Commission in-charge, issued a separate warning. He stated that the 8 lakh voters marked as 'permanently shifted' are now vulnerable. Dhanopia fears that during the upcoming claims-and-objections period or pre-poll corrections, BLOs might be pressured to fill these vacancies with new voters who could be favorable to the BJP.
The Congress party's allegations present a significant challenge to the narrative of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. By linking the massive voter deletion drive to the BJP's victory margin and highlighting specific affected constituencies, they are demanding scrutiny and accountability. The focus now shifts to the response from the Election Commission and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party regarding these grave charges about the integrity of the electoral roll.
