VBA flags alleged electoral discrepancies in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, urges legal action

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi VBA on Friday reiterated its concerns over alleged irregularities in recent state assembly elections drawing parallels between voting patterns in Maharashtra and Andhra PradeshAddressing a press conference in Pune party president Prakash Ambedkar cited data presented by economist Parakala Prabhakar to question the transparency of the electoral processLateNight Voting Figures Raise QuestionsAmbedkar referred to Prabhakarrsquos analysis of official notifications issued by the Election Commission of India claiming that a significant portion of votes in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections were recorded well after standard polling hoursAccording to the figures cited approximately 416 per cent of total votes were cast between 1145 pm and 2 am with nearly 52 lakh votes recorded between 8 pm and 2 am Of these over 17 lakh votes were reportedly cast after midnight alone Ambedkar argued that such patterns were ldquounusualrdquo and comparable to trends observed in Maharashtra during the 2024 Assembly electionsMaharashtra Turnout Spike Under ScrutinyThe VBA leader pointed to what he described as a sharp increase in voter turnout in Maharashtra after the official close of polling He noted that turnout stood at 5822 per cent at 5 pm on polling day but rose to 6605 per cent in the final figures released latermdashan increase of 783 percentage pointsCiting Election Commission data Ambedkar said that between 5 pm and 1130 pm on November 20 2024 the total number of votes polled increased by nearly 66 lakh He further claimed that an additional rise of close to 10 lakh votes was recorded just hours before counting began In total he alleged that over 75 lakh votes were added between the evening of polling day and the night before countingConcerns Over Transparency and Data DisclosureAmbedkar also raised concerns about the nonavailability of boothlevel data particularly Form 17C which details votes polled at individual polling stations He alleged that such data was not made publicly accessible in the Maharashtra elections limiting independent verificationHe argued that similarities in voting patterns and data gaps across states point to deeper issues in the electoral process including questions about transparency and accountabilityCall for Legal InterventionThe VBA has already initiated legal proceedings over the matter Party member Chetan Chandrakant Ahire has filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court naming the Union government and the Election Commission among respondentsAmbedkar said he had also written to Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi urging the Congress to join what he described as a legal challenge to the election results The correspondence sent on two occasions in 2025 invited the party to intervene in the case pending before the Supreme Court of IndialsquoLegal Fight Needed Not Just ProtestsrsquoWhile opposition parties have staged protests over alleged irregularities Ambedkar stressed that legal action is essential to address such concerns He argued that courtroom scrutiny rather than street mobilisation alone would be more effective in examining discrepancies and ensuring electoral integrityThe VBA has maintained that early legal intervention could have prevented similar concerns from arising in subsequent elections The Election Commission has not yet publicly responded to the specific claims raised during the press conference