Pune: A major legal challenge has been filed against Bhosari BJP MLA Mahesh Landge, with allegations of a voter list scam involving 62,000 fake voters. The Bombay High Court has taken note of the petition, and Justice R.I. Chagla has issued a notice to Mahesh Landge, directing him to respond to the allegations by April 15, 2025.
The petition was filed by Ajit Damodar Gawhane, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate, who contested against BJP’s Mahesh Landge in the Bhosari Assembly elections.
Allegations of Election Manipulation
According to Gawhane, despite having strong voter support, the final election results unexpectedly showed Mahesh Landge winning by a significant margin. This raised suspicions of an electoral fraud, leading Gawhane to file an election petition in the Bombay High Court through advocates Asim Sarode, Shriya Awale, and Rajabhau Chaudhary.
The petition alleges:
62,000 bogus voters were added to the voter list
15,000 genuine voters, who were likely to oppose Landge, were removed
Election officials were complicit in planned voter list manipulation
The petition has also submitted alleged documentary evidence supporting these claims.
Doubts Raised Over Election Officials’ Role
The petition directly questions the role of election officials, including the District Collector, District Election Officer, and Chief Election Officer, calling their actions suspicious. It also alleges:
Multiple voter ID cards were issued for individuals with identical names, ages, and addresses
Fake voters were added using duplicate mobile numbers and birth years
Complaints about voter list fraud were ignored before finalizing the list
Concerns Over EVMs and Electoral Transparency
Advocate Asim Sarode has also raised concerns over broader electoral manipulation, alleging that both voter list fraud and selective EVM tampering were used to favor BJP and its allies in Maharashtra elections.
The petition further claims:
The Election Commission failed to ensure transparency in voting and counting
17C forms and CCTV footage were not disclosed under RTI
Voters’ right to access election-related data was denied
Election Commission ignored the Supreme Court’s 2013 directive requiring verification of 5% EVM votes