CSDS’s Sanjay Kumar retracts voter data claims, BJP demands apology from Rahul
The psephologist deleted his social media posts on voter fluctuations in the Maharashtra polls after the BJP accused him of fuelling the Congress's 'fake narrative'
Days after raising concerns over unusual voter additions and deletions in the Maharashtra Assembly election, psephologist Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) has apologised and deleted his posts, sparking a major political row.
The BJP accused the research body of circulating unverified data to fuel what it called the Congress’s 'fake narrative."
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CSDS retracts claims
In a surprise development, Sanjay Kumar deleted his posts alleging sharp fluctuations in voter numbers across several Maharashtra Assembly constituencies and expressed regret for what he described as an “error.”
"I sincerely apologise for the tweets regarding the Maharashtra elections. The error occurred while comparing 2024 LS and 2024 AS data. The data row was misread by our team. The tweet has been deleted. I had no intention of spreading misinformation," Kumar said on X.
Earlier, he had claimed that number of voters in Nashik West and Hingna had risen by 47 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively, between the Lok Sabha election last and the Maharashtra polls earlier this year, while number of voters sharply fell in Ramtek and Devlali by 38 per cent and 36 percent, respectively.
These claims had been amplified by Congress leaders as part of their “vote fraud” attack on the BJP.
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BJP slams Rahul Gandhi
With Sanjay Kumar withdrawing his remarks, the BJP escalated its counteroffensive.
Senior BJP leader and IT cell head Amit Malviya said the Congress and Rahul Gandhi had relied on CSDS’s flawed figures to target the Election Commission.
"Where does this leave Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, which brazenly targeted the Election Commission and went so far as to brand genuine voters as fake? Shameful," Malviya said, demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi.
Wider political context
Kumar’s apology comes amid the Opposition’s aggressive campaign against the Election Commission, accusing it of favouring the BJP.
Also Read: Undaunted Rahul Gandhi doubles down on 'vote chori' allegations against EC
Rahul Gandhi has highlighted alleged "vote theft" in polls, citing Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency as an example, and claimed the Opposition first sensed problems during the Maharashtra polls.
The INDIA bloc, which had secured 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in last year’s Lok Sabha polls, failed to cross the 50-mark in the state elections just five months later.
The Election Commission has rejected the allegations and asked Rahul Gandhi to either file an affidavit reaffirming his claims or issue an apology.