Over 33,000 Voters Added 3,411 Deleted From Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’s Constituency During State Elections: RTI

In a high-profile Nagpur South-west assembly constituency, where Devendra Fadnavis has won as an MLA, 33,712 new voters were added within six months from the Lok Sabha elections, 2024 to the Maharashtra assembly elections. 3,411 voters were deleted from the electoral roll within the same time, revealed in an RTI response to the INC leader Prafulla Gudadhe.

Gudahde, Nagpur-based Congress leader, who was fielded against Fadnavis in Nagpur South West assembly constituency, filed an RTI to the subdivisional office/ Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in Nagpur on May 1, 2025. He asked three questions: How many new voters (under Form-6) were added after the Lok Sabha elections and before the assembly elections?

He also asked the total number of deletions of voters under Form-7 and the BLO (Booth level officer’s) reports about all the newly registered voters, as well as deleted voters.

In its response dated May 16, 2025, the ERO for Nagpur south west constituency stated, “In 52-Nagpur south west constituency, 33,712 new voters were added (both online and offline) from a period of final electoral role was prepared for Loksabha elections 2024 to final electoral roll prepared for assembly elections in 2024.”

The response also said, ‘3,411 voters were deleted from the roll (both online and offline) under Form-7, between the period of the final electoral roll prepared for the Loksabha elections 2024 to the final electoral roll prepared for the assembly elections in 2024.’

Upon question of BLOs reports for each addition and deletion, the ERO responded in an RTI, ‘All the applications for voter additions and deletion in the roll were submitted by the booth level officers(BLOs) online through app and therefore the offline reports of these entries are not available with this office and therefore can’t be provided.’

According to the manual for BLOs, “Digitisation of all forms received in physical mode through the Garuda app is necessary.” This means the data of each addition and deletion is being recorded through the app, and the database can be made available in digital form.

“Election commission’s officials are not giving reports about the booth-level officers’ addition, deletion exercise, and the actual problem lies there. BLOs are mostly class-4 government employees or Anganwadi, Asha workers, etc. They are often pressured by the district level electoral registration officials for additions and deletions of the voters that they (ERO, DRO) wanted to exercise according to the ruling power.” Prafulla Gudadhe of INC told Outlook.

He also adds, “When I lost my seat, a large number of people started coming to my office, expressing shocking reactions as to how we lost despite there being a favourable condition for us on ground. That’s when I started investigating the issue, and it seems clear manipulation in the electoral roll.”

Unsatisfied with the information provided in RTI on BLO reports, Gudadhe also challenged this response at the appellate authority, seeking information on BLO reports of the concerned additions and deletions in the electoral roll in June 2025. He is awaiting a response.

“Polling staff in Nagpur have on record stated lapses on their part, cited in media reports, yet there is no action against them by the election commission, speaks for itself” says Gudadhe, and adds, “This sharp rise in voters is unusual, compared to a routine increase of around one per cent, demands critical oversight by the election commission according to its own rulebook.”

When Rahul Gandhi conducted a sensational press conference in Delhi earlier this month, alleging votechori, citing the data and investigation about Mahadevpura constituency of Karnataka gathered by his team and subsequently alleged election frauds in Maharashtra state assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis responded to it saying “Neither there is vote theft in Maharashtra nor in India, I think a chip from his brain has been stolen and his hard disc is corrupted, therefore he keeps spreading lies.”

Outlook has sent a questionnaire to the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, for alleged voter manipulation in his constituency; we are awaiting a response. We have also sent a questionnaire to the chief electoral officer of Maharashtra regarding the availability of digitised data recorded through the Garuda app about additions and deletions of voters. We will update this copy when we receive a response.