Prithviraj Chavan alleges over 56,000 duplicate voters in Maharashtra
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has alleged the presence of over 56,000 duplicate voters in his constituency. He has requested an electoral roll cleanup and filed an election petition, citing specific examples of names appearing multiple times.
Why it matters
Allegations of electoral roll manipulation in a major democracy can undermine public trust in the integrity of the voting process.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed on Monday (August 17, 2026) that there are over 27,000 duplicate voters in his Karad South Assembly constituency.
Mr. Chavan said that although his votes and vote share had increased in the 2024 Assembly polls compared to the 2019 elections, he had lost the election. After conducting an analysis of the voters’ lists for himself and for five other surrounding Assembly constituencies, he claimed that there were 56,118 duplicate voters in the region.
“I feel cheated. Does the Election Commission want a free and fair election at all? While vote chori is happening in other parts of the country, there is an effort to enumerate the same voter several times here,” he said during an exclusive interview with The Hindu on Monday (August 17, 2026).
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