No party can alter electoral rolls; corrections, updates being done securely: Maharashtra poll panel

Mumbai, Oct 18 (PTI) The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Saturday said that no political party can tamper with the electoral rolls and that corrections and updates on the voter lists are being managed securely.

The clarification by the poll panel comes amid allegations by opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, NCP (SP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), that there are duplicate names in the electoral rolls across different addresses and assembly segments.

The Opposition has called for “rectification” in the electoral rolls and removal of “anomalies” ahead of the rural and urban body elections, which are to be completed by January 31, 2026.

In a press release on Saturday, the State Election Commission (SEC) said the updated voter lists for the local body polls were prepared using assembly constituency rolls as of July 1, 2025.

These lists have been divided into wards and made public, allowing sufficient time for claims and corrections. Citizens can file objections or corrections through prescribed forms offline or via the online Voters’ Service Portal, it said.

The voter registration process is continuous and transparent, and no political party can alter the official electoral lists, the release said, stressing that voter details, including corrections and updates, are being managed securely under the supervision of authorised officers.

A delegation of opposition leaders had met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam on October 14, submitting representations about alleged discrepancies in voter lists.

The poll panel on Saturday addressed specific issues raised by political parties and media reports. It said the names of certain voters were found more than once, but those have now been corrected.

Incorrect ages in the lists have been rectified, it said. While some slum or unnumbered houses led to entries without proper addresses, these are being updated as per official records, said the release.

The SEC has also encouraged political parties to appoint booth-level agents to oversee polling stations and ensure the integrity of the election process.

According to the release, the poll commission has been conducting Special Intensive Revisions and annual Special Summary Revisions of assembly constituency rolls since 2002. Draft and final lists are made available to recognised political parties for claims and objections, it said.

Prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state, such revisions were conducted, and updated voter lists were provided to political parties, said the poll panel.

After October 2024, while no formal summary revision was declared, monthly inclusions, deletions, and corrections from November 2024 to September 2025 have been recorded and made available on the website of the chief electoral office, it said.

The SEC has made the updated voter lists available for claims and objections to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections, the poll panel added. PTI MR NR