Case Filed Against Psephologist Sanjay Kumar Over Wrong Voter Data In Maharashtra

A case has been filed against psephologist Sanjay Kumar by the district electoral officer (DEO) of Nashik, Maharashtra, for allegedly circulating incorrect voter data regarding the Devlali assembly segment in the 2024 Lok Sabha and state elections.

In a post on X, the DEO urged citizens to verify election-related information only through the official Election Commission of India (ECI) website. The specific charges against Kumar have not yet been disclosed.

Kumar, a professor at Delhi's Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), had issued an apology on Tuesday for an earlier post on Maharashtra elections that inaccurately claimed a significant decline in voter turnout in two assembly seats when compared to the Lok Sabha polls. He explained that the mistake arose from his data team misreading a row, stressing that the error was unintentional.

"The tweet has since been deleted. I had no intention of spreading misinformation," Kumar clarified. A senior researcher at CSDS, Kumar is known for his long-standing work in election analysis.

His apology, however, sparked a political row. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused him of deliberately misrepresenting the figures to support the Congress, terming it an example of "confirmation bias." Other BJP leaders echoed the charge, alleging that the Congress had used Kumar's data to level accusations of electoral fraud against both the BJP and the Election Commission.

The Congress has denied these allegations, insisting that Rahul Gandhi's recent criticism of the BJP and the EC was based on official data released by the poll panel itself, not on Kumar's figures.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has asked Gandhi to provide his analysis and supporting evidence under oath. Gandhi has refused, asserting that as a sitting MP he has already sworn allegiance to the Constitution and that the figures he cited were sourced directly from the EC. "The Commission can simply check its own numbers," he said.