Congress alleges vote theft in a Sion ward, demands investigation

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad said party candidates and workers found that the seals of two EVMs were broken and that the mandatory signature of the presiding officer was missing. She alleged that despite the flaws being brought to their notice, election officials allowed the counting to continue

MUMBAI: A day after the Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the party alleged vote theft in Sion–Koliwada’s ward 180, claiming that seals on two electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with during counting.

Congress alleges vote theft in a Sion ward, demands investigation

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad said party candidates and workers found that the seals of two EVMs were broken and that the mandatory signature of the presiding officer was missing. She alleged that despite the flaws being brought to their notice, election officials allowed the counting to continue.

Gaikwad claimed the returning officer acknowledged the irregularities but failed to halt the process, effectively permitting what she termed “Vote Chori”. She further alleged that the police resorted to a lathicharge when Congress workers protested and demanded corrective action in a “democratic manner”.

The incident occurred on Friday when Congress candidate Smita Mhatre and party workers flagged the discrepancies during counting. “When questioned, the Returning Officer (RO) and election officials admitted the flaw, yet shirked responsibility and took no action to stop the counting, effectively allowing ‘Vote Chori’ to continue,” Gaikwad accused the poll officers. “Congress workers stood their ground, demanding what the law requires, a written admission of the broken EVM seal and an immediate halt to counting. Instead of taking corrective measures, the election officials and the police responded with force.”

In a social media post, Gaikwad shared a video purportedly showing police removing Congress leaders and workers from the protest site. She also posted a letter written by Pramod Sawant, election representative of the party candidate Smita Mhatre, to the returning officer seeking an inquiry into the alleged violations.

“This is a blatant Vote Chori. We do not accept the result in ward 180, where the sanctity of the electoral process itself has been compromised. I demand a thorough and independent inquiry. The State Election Commissioner must explain why mandatory norms were violated and why no corrective action was taken. This is totally unacceptable. Democracy cannot be beaten into silence,” he remarked in a post on X.

Shiv Sena’s Trishna Vishwasrao won the elections from ward number 180 by securing 8094 votes.