India opposition leader questions election body on voter lists, weighs judicial recourse

MUMBAI – India’s top opposition leader questioned the country’s main election body on Feb 7 over what he said were suspect electoral rolls in the richest Indian state.

Mr Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India’s Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s main opponent, alleged that over 3.9 million new names were added to voter lists before the local election in 2024 in Maharashtra, more than the total number of voters added in the last five years. 

Reuters was not able to verify the number. 

An alliance led by Mr Gandhi’s party lost the election to an alliance led by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party despite being widely projected to win, leading them to repeatedly question the veracity of the polls since the election in November 2024.

The Election Commission, which conducts both state and federal elections across the country, has rejected allegations of irregularities and said in a post on social media platform X after Mr Gandhi’s allegations that it would respond in writing. 

“We have demanded the voter list of Maharashtra, which the Election Commission has refused to give us. It is their job to bring about transparency,” Mr Gandhi said at a press conference.

He said the next step for the opposition parties would be to go to the judicial system, suggesting the parties might challenge the election in the courts but did not elaborate.

Mr Modi’s party has won two key state polls since an underwhelming show in the general election in 2024 and is

widely projected to win polls in February

for the nation’s capital Delhi, counting for which takes place on Feb 8. REUTERS