Rahul seeks timeline after ECI nod to share Haryana, Maha data

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has welcomed the Election Commission's decision for sharing with the Congress the electoral roll data of the Haryana and Maharashtra elections from 2009 to 2024 and he wanted to know when it would be done.

Tweeting the copy of the exclusive ET report of last Sunday about the EC decision, Gandhi stated on X: "Good first step taken by EC to hand over voter rolls. Can the EC please announce the exact date by which this data will be handed over in a digital, machine-readable format?" His comments came within days after he renewed his attack on the poll body by again alleging irregularities in the electoral roll and voter turnout in the assembly elections in Maharashtra last year.

The ET report said the Election Commission has cleared the way for sharing electoral roll data for Haryana and Maharashtra from 2009 to 2024, following an assurance it gave to the Delhi High Court earlier this year and that last week, the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of both the states passed orders allowing Congress leaders to obtain electoral roll data from the relevant district and election officers.

Like in the case of the Maharashtra elections, the Congress leadership had also raised some allegations after the Haryana assembly elections, including about the electoral rolls and about the functioning of the EVMs. The Congress lost to the BJP and allies in the assembly elections in both these states.