Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate cited reports that over 85,000 duplicate voter registrations in Panvel and neighboring constituencies ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, highlighting yet another case of “Vote Chori”.
BY PC Bureau
August 21, 2025 – Allegations of large-scale voter duplication and electoral malpractice have emerged from the Panvel Assembly constituency in Raigad district, Maharashtra, highlighting another scandal of “Vote Chori”, .
Supriya Srinate, head of the Congress social media department, cited the damning reports in a detailed tweet thread (@SupriyaShrinate). She stated that following a press conference by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on August 7, which drew attention to what he described as rampant “Vote Chori” across India, a “Pandora’s box” had been opened, with independent verifications uncovering shocking instances of electoral irregularities nationwide.
According to media reports cited by Shrinate, MVA candidate Balaram Patil uncovered a total of 85,211 duplicate voter registrations across Panvel and surrounding constituencies:
- 25,855 duplicates in Panvel alone, with names appearing two to four times.
- 27,275 duplicates in Uran constituency.
- 16,096 duplicates in Airoli.
- 15,397 voters listed in both Panvel and Belapur constituencies.
- 588 names flagged as dubious.
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Leader of Opposition @RahulGandhi ji’s press conference on August 7th has opened a Pandora’s box – independent verifications which reveal shocking details of Vote Chori are emerging from all across India.
Some outrageous revelations from Panvel Assembly constituency (188) in…
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) August 21, 2025
Patil reportedly approached the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), who also served as the Returning Officer, requesting deletion of duplicate names, but received no action. He subsequently petitioned the Bombay High Court on September 26, 2024, which directed the SDO to take an appropriate decision within two weeks. However, election dates were announced, and the rolls remained unchanged. Voting took place on November 20, 2024, and results were declared on November 23, with Patil losing the election.
Read: Rahul Gandhi Accuses BJP, ECI of “Vote Chori” to Favor Adani in Bihar Rally
Despite not receiving official copies of electoral rolls, Patil’s team audited 490 out of 574 polling booths in Panvel and discovered 11,628 votes cast two or more times. Multiple cases of a single individual holding two EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) numbers were documented, including:
- Pradeep Poraji, listed twice with different EPIC IDs.
- Prachi Dongare, registered at two separate booths.
- Harishchandra Bhale and Neha Vivek Kulkarni, similarly recorded in duplicate.
Patil emphasized that Panvel, which falls under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is approximately 65% urbanized, demonstrates that electoral malpractices are not confined to rural areas.
After uncovering these duplications, Patil reportedly emailed both the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra and the Chief Election Commissioner of India in June, but had received no response.
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Shrinate, in her tweet, highlighted that Rahul Gandhi’s August 7 press conference had “caught the bull by its horn,” bringing national attention to what she described as rampant vote fraud. She stressed that “Vote Chori is rampant, and can no longer be tolerated,” reinforcing the Congress party’s call for electoral accountability and reform.
