New Delhi, Aug. 19 — A public apology by political analyst Sanjay Kumar over misreported voter data has intensified the already charged debate on the credibility of India’s electoral process.
Kumar, co-director of the Lokniti–CSDS project, had shared constituency-level figures on X suggesting steep fluctuations in voter numbers between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra. Two constituencies appeared to show dramatic declines in registered voters, while two others displayed unusually sharp increases. The posts, citing Lokniti–CSDS as the source, were widely circulated online and amplified by opposition leaders to bolster allegations of voter fraud.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was among those accused of using the data to charge that nearly 40% of voters had “disappeared” in some constituencies. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla quickly highlighted the claims, posting screenshots of the now-deleted tweets to argue that the figures were being weaponised against the Election Commission.
Within hours, Kumar deleted the posts and issued a clarification: “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.”
Opposition vs. Election Commission
The controversy comes amid sustained opposition attacks on the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the poll body of enabling “vote chori” to benefit the BJP, alleging irregularities in turnout reporting, unexplained surges in voting late in the day, and large-scale alterations to electoral rolls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut went further, claiming that former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had tilted the scales in favour of the BJP by awarding the Shiv Sena symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction. “The 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections were won by BJP and their allies with significant help from this gentleman,” Raut posted on X, sharing Kumar’s image.
The Election Commission has firmly dismissed these accusations. Current Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar labelled them “politically motivated,” noting that Congress had filed no formal complaints for eight months after the state polls. The EC has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, rejecting both charges of “match-fixing” in Maharashtra and earlier claims of voter roll manipulation.
BJP Seizes on Retraction
The BJP has used Kumar’s apology as fresh ammunition against the Opposition. Amit Malviya, head of the party’s IT cell, accused Kumar of fuelling a “fake narrative” rather than offering objective analysis. “The apology is in, and Sanjay Kumar is out,” he wrote on X, calling Kumar a “protégé of Yogendra Yadav” whose track record reflected “confirmation bias, not serious scholarship.”
According to Malviya, the incident underscores what the BJP sees as selective scepticism by opposition leaders and their allies in academia, framing political narratives under the guise of independent analysis.
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