NCP SP candidate alleges poll fraud in Parli seat raises question over Munde's victory

Mumbai, Nov 26 (PTI) NCP (SP) candidate Rajesaheb Deshmukh on Tuesday alleged fraud in voting in the Parli assembly constituency in Maharashtra's Beed district, claiming that votes were cast using the names of deceased persons in nearly 150 polling booths.
Deshmukh, who lost the recent election by a huge margin of 1,40,224 votes to Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, has accused Munde's supporters of using fraudulent means to manipulate the election.
Speaking to a regional news channel, he said, "NCP candidate Dhananjay Munde clearly orchestrated terrorism. His supporters actively prevented eligible voters from casting their votes. I have shared around 10 different videos publicly, exposing fraud in the election process. This is not the way to conduct an election in a democratic manner."
Irregularities were carried out in nearly 140 to 150 booths in the constituency, where votes were allegedly cast in the names of deceased individuals, he claimed.
"The names of these deceased persons should have been removed from the voters' list long ago. Munde's supporters ensured that others were not allowed to vote. Even the Election Commission officials appeared helpless," Deshmukh alleged, adding that he could provide a list of voters to back his claims.
Deshmukh revealed that he had immediately written to the Election Commission (EC) following the election, but did not receive any response. "I sent a letter to the EC on the very day of the voting. The next day, I submitted four additional letters, but to date, I have received no reply from them," he claimed.
Deshmukh also expressed disappointment over the "lack of action" by the Election Commission despite his complaints.
He wondered how Munde emerged victorious, given the widespread anger towards the state government over issues such as agrarian distress and unemployment.
"There was a strong wave of support for Sharad Pawar and our party due to people's frustrations with the state government. So how did the ruling party candidate win? When we tried to protest, my relatives and supporters were arrested," Deshmukh added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)