Political Analyst Retracts Data On Maharashtra Polls, BJP Gets New Ammo In Voter List Fight

Last Updated:August 19, 2025, 14:13 IST

After pollster Sanjay Kumar retracted viral Maharashtra voter data, the BJP asked if Congress would apologise for using “fake numbers” to attack the EC

Rahul Gandhi has accused the EC of enabling “vote chori” to benefit the BJP. (Image for representation: PTI)

In the middle of a heated political row over the credibility of India’s electoral process, political analyst Sanjay Kumar’s public apology for misreading voter data has become a talking point.

Kumar, co-director of the Lokniti–CSDS project, had posted figures showing sharp fluctuations in the number of voters across four Maharashtra constituencies, two showing steep drops, two showing dramatic spikes, between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The posts, published on X, quickly began circulating online. Several users flagged the magnitude of the changes as statistical red flags, suggesting either massive deletions or unexplained additions to the voter rolls.

Before Kumar’s retraction, the data appeared to have been picked up by Congress leaders to support allegations of voter fraud. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted screenshots of now-deleted tweets, including one by Pawan Khera, claiming the figures had been used to accuse the Election Commission of allowing nearly 40 per cent of voters to “disappear” in some constituencies while others saw unnatural spikes. The graphic cited Lokniti–CSDS as the source.

Shortly after the data went viral, Kumar deleted both posts and issued a clarification stating that the data had been incorrectly compared due to a misreading of rows in the dataset.

The deletion has given the BJP fresh ammunition and what appears to be a chance to launch another counterattack on Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition bloc, who are alleging “vote theft” and have mounted sustained pressure on the Election Commission. The EC, for its part, has spiritedly denied all allegations, calling the claims unsubstantiated and politically motivated.

What Sanjay Kumar Posted

Kumar shared two separate tweets under the title “Some information of Maharashtra election.” Together, they included data from four constituencies. In Ramtek, he claimed the number of voters had dropped from 4.66 lakh in the Lok Sabha polls to 2.86 lakh in the Assembly election, a decline of 38.45 per cent. Devlali showed a similar pattern, with voters allegedly falling from 4.56 lakh to 2.88 lakh, a drop of 36.82 per cent.

In contrast, Nashik West appeared to have seen a surge of 47.38 per cent, with voters increasing from 3.28 lakh in the national election to 4.83 lakh in the state polls. Hingna also seemed to reflect an unusual rise, jumping from 3.14 lakh to 4.50 lakh, an increase of 43.08 per cent.

But later, he deleted both tweets and issued a statement: “I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.”

The Broader Opposition–EC Confrontation

The episode unfolded against the backdrop of a sustained campaign by the Opposition against the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the EC of enabling “vote chori”, or electoral theft, to benefit the BJP. Congress leaders have alleged discrepancies in turnout data, sudden voting surges late in the day, and large-scale additions or deletions from the electoral rolls between the two elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar played a decisive role in helping the BJP secure victories, pointing to the decision recognising the Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and awarding it the party’s symbol.

“The 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections were won by BJP and their allies with significant help from this gentleman (Rajiv Kumar)! By giving the Shiv Sena party and symbol to the traitor faction, he encouraged defections!” Raut said in his post on X. He also shared Kumar’s image in his post.

The Election Commission has firmly rejected all these allegations. Current Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has dismissed the Opposition’s claims as hearsay and political distraction. He pointed out that despite the seriousness of the accusations, the Congress did not file any formal complaints or petitions for eight months after the Assembly polls, undercutting its case further.

The EC has consistently denied any wrongdoing, rejecting both the “match-fixing” charge in Maharashtra and earlier allegations of manipulated voter rolls.

BJP’s Counterattack

The BJP was quick to capitalise on the retraction. Amit Malviya, who heads the party’s IT cell, accused Sanjay Kumar of feeding Congress’s “fake narrative” rather than conducting objective analysis. “The apology is in, and Sanjay Kumar is out,” he wrote on X, before questioning Kumar’s record as an analyst. He also referred to him as a “protégé of Yogendra Yadav” and said that his repeated projections of BJP losses amounted to confirmation bias, not serious scholarship.

According to Malviya, the episode is further evidence that the Opposition and its allies in academia are pushing selective scepticism under the guise of neutral analysis.

Others in the BJP ecosystem also weighed in. Political commentator Rishi Bagree pointed out that while Kumar had retracted the data and deleted the posts, Congress leaders continued to circulate the same figures. “Sanjay Kumar of CSDS has apologised for the fake Maharashtra data and deleted his tweets,” Bagree wrote.

“But guess what, Congress is still using those fake tweets and deleted CSDS infographics to instigate voters against the EC.”

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