Congress to launch state-wide voter list verification drive

Senior leader Satej Patil urged participants to nominate party workers willing to work exclusively on voter list scrutiny in their respective areas

After party leader Rahul Gandhi raised concerns over alleged discrepancies in the voter list, the Congress’s Maharashtra unit has decided to keep a close watch on electoral rolls and conduct cross-verification across the state.

Senior Congress leaders Babasaheb Thorat, Vijay Vadettiwar, Satej Patil and Vishwajeet Kadam were present for the orientation workshop. (HT PHOTO)

The decision was taken during a two-day workshop, which started on Monday, at Khadakwasla, to provide orientation and training to newly appointed Congress functionaries in the state.

Senior leader Satej Patil urged participants to nominate party workers willing to work exclusively on voter list scrutiny in their respective areas. “They will study the voter lists in detail and verify entries on the ground,” he said.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan accused the ruling BJP of “robbing the electoral process” through vote theft, alleging that it was a ploy to “destroy democracy” in the country.

“The Maharashtra assembly elections last year exposed this theft. What is democracy? It is its people, the right to vote given to them, and the principle of one person, one vote. The BJP robbed the entire electoral process by committing vote chori. This is their ploy to destroy democracy. A do-or-die situation now prevails in the country, and all opposition parties and citizens should oppose this tooth and nail.” He claimed the ECI’s notice to Gandhi over his “vote chori” remark is like “a thief reprimanding a cop”.

“The party’s base is built by its workers and strong leadership. The BJP is like a witch that feeds on Congress workers. In their bid for a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, they forget their party is filling up with former Congress members. If the chief minister looks at his cabinet, he will find more than half of the ministers are from the Congress,” he claimed.

Senior Congress leaders Babasaheb Thorat, Vijay Vadettiwar, Satej Patil and Vishwajeet Kadam were present for the orientation workshop.

(With Agency Inputs)