VBA Chief Prakash Ambedkar Questions Transparency of 2024 Polls in Andhra, Maharashtra

Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Friday alleged that the discrepancies flagged in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections mirror similar irregularities that his party had earlier raised about the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference in Pune, Ambedkar referred to an analysis by economist Parakala Prabhakar, claiming that a significant number of votes in Andhra Pradesh were recorded well after polling hours. Citing official Election Commission data, he said nearly 4.16% of the total votes were cast between 11.45 pm and 2 am, with around 52 lakh votes recorded between 8 pm and 2 am, including over 17 lakh votes after midnight.

Ambedkar said these figures raise questions similar to those flagged in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. “The pattern appears consistent and points to serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.

He recalled that the VBA had written to the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra on December 12, 2024, highlighting what it described as a significant gap between provisional turnout figures and final voting data. According to Ambedkar, the voter turnout in Maharashtra stood at 58.22% at 5 pm on polling day but later rose sharply to 66.05% in the final figures, an increase of 7.83%.

Quoting official data, Ambedkar further claimed that between 5 pm and 11.30 pm on November 20, 2024, the total votes polled increased by nearly 66 lakh. He added that an additional 9.99 lakh votes were recorded just hours before counting. “In total, between 5 pm on November 20 and 10 pm on November 22, the vote count increased by over 75 lakh,” he said.

The VBA leader also alleged that Form 17C, a key document containing booth-wise voting data was not made publicly available in the Maharashtra elections, drawing a parallel with Andhra Pradesh.

Calling the similarities “deeply concerning,” Ambedkar said they indicate that the electoral process may no longer be fully transparent or free from irregularities.

He also highlighted that VBA leader Chetan Chandrakant Ahire had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the alleged discrepancies. Ambedkar added that he had written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on January 16 and August 10, 2025, urging the party to join a legal challenge.

“Had the Congress joined us earlier, these issues could have been exposed sooner and possibly prevented from recurring,” he said.

Taking a direct swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Ambedkar questioned the Congress leader’s approach. “This fight cannot be won on the streets alone. Protests are symbolic. If there are discrepancies in the electoral process, they must be challenged legally,” he said.

He urge the Congress leadership to prioritise a legal battle to ensure transparency and fairness in elections, warning that failing to do so would limit their efforts to symbolic resistance.​