Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal

Bhopal, Jul 12: The Madhya Pradesh Congress has raised serious concerns over the credibility of the 2023 Assembly election results following the State Election Commission’s recent move to conduct physical verification of the state’s voter lists.

Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath alleged that the large number of suspected fake voters—estimated between 8 to 10 per cent—raises doubts about the fairness of last year's elections.

“Is it just a coincidence that the BJP’s increased vote share in 2023 matches the percentage of voters now found questionable? This calls the entire result into question,” said Nath.

Citing official Election Commission data, the Congress pointed out that the vote share between BJP and Congress in 2023 was nearly identical. Yet, while Congress maintained a 40% share, the BJP surged ahead by about 8%, raising suspicions that this margin may have come from ineligible or duplicate voters.

The issue was also flagged by state Congress president Jitu Patwari, who claimed an unexplained surge of 70,000 new voters in his constituency just two months before the election. “Over 1,600 locations have unusually high numbers of voters registered at a single address,” Patwari said, accusing the BJP of manipulating the electoral process.

In 2018, Congress had won 114 seats, but was reduced to 63 in the 2023 Assembly elections, despite retaining its vote percentage.

Responding to the allegations, BJP leader Vishwas Sarang dismissed the claims, accusing Congress of only questioning the electoral process when it suits them.

“Every time Congress loses, they blame the Election Commission. When they win, the system is fine. Instead of making excuses, they should focus on winning the trust of the people,” Sarang stated.

With the physical verification of the voter lists now underway, the controversy could intensify, potentially leading to legal and political ramifications if major discrepancies are found.