CSDS Pollster Sanjay Kumar Retracts Voter Fraud Claims In Maharashtra, BJP Slams “Fake Narrative”

The debate over alleged irregularities in Maharashtra’s voter lists raised by the opposition parties led by Congress took a nosedive after noted psephologist Sanjay Kumar of Lokniti-CSDS retracted a post that had flagged dramatic swings in the electorate between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The data, presented with constituency codes and exact figures, quickly drew sharp political reactions, feeding into the opposition’s ongoing charge of “vote chori”.

However, Kumar later issued a public apology, admitting an error in comparing datasets.

Congress leader Pawan Khera had seized upon the figures before the clarification, arguing that the Election Commission’s numbers implied near-impossible demographic shifts.

“Close to 40% of the electorate died/permanently migrated in Ramtek and Deolali assembly constituencies… Around 45% of the electorate suddenly became eligible to vote in Nashik West and Hingna… Next they will announce that 2+2 = 420,” he posted, sharing a graphic sourced to Lokniti-CSDS.

BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya took to X to hit back strongly, “The apology is in, and Sanjay Kumar is out… In his exuberance to feed Congress’s fake narrative on Maharashtra, CSDS put out data without verification. That is not analysis—it is confirmation bias.”

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