Pune, 22 July 2025: The Supreme Court has ordered a full recount of votes in the Hadapsar Assembly constituency following allegations of irregularities during the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November 2024. The decision comes as a significant win for Prashant Jagtap, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) candidate, who had contested the validity of the earlier vote count.
Jagtap had raised serious concerns about discrepancies in the counting process and demanded a fresh recount. Responding to his objections, the Election Commission had initially agreed to a recount of 27 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units. However, it controversially directed that the recount be conducted using mock poll data instead of the actual votes cast during the election.
This directive was challenged in the Supreme Court by Jagtap and others, who argued that using mock data would defeat the purpose of the recount and fail to address concerns of electoral fraud. The apex court has now overturned the Election Commission’s instructions and allowed a complete recount using actual polling data from the election.
The recount will be conducted at the Bhosari godown and is scheduled to take place from July 25 to August 2. It is expected to shed light on the claims of vote tampering that have surrounded the Hadapsar seat since the results were declared.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Prashant Jagtap said, “The vote theft in Hadapsar will finally come to light before the world.”