The former Chief Minister visited polling booth 189 in Pushpa Nagar on Saturday to investigate the discrepancies personally after obtaining the 2025 voter list .
On-Ground Investigation Reveals Shocking Discrepancies
During his visit to house number 70, which serves as the provincial office of the Madhya Pradesh Teachers' Association, Singh discovered that thirty individuals had been registered as voters from this single 1,250 square foot property .
Upon investigation, it was found that only one person actually resides at the address, making the remaining 29 registrations potentially bogus .
Speaking to reporters, Digvijaya Singh stated: "At booth number 189 in the Narela assembly constituency, in house number 70, where the Madhya Pradesh Shikshak Sangh office is located, 30 people have been shown as residents, even though only one person actually lives there. The remaining 29 names are bogus additions" .
RSS Connection and Administrative Lapses
The investigation took a political turn when Singh discovered that the location also serves as a meeting point for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities . During his visit, he interacted with Gautam Arya, who identified himself as an RSS branch instructor residing at the address .
The Booth Level Officer (BLO) assigned to the area, Pratima Bhilware, admitted that the registered voters had not been physically verified at the address, raising serious questions about the verification process .
Singh expressed frustration with electoral officials, noting: "We tried to meet the BLO, supervisor, and ARO. This is an RSS office. If such fraud is occurring at a place where RSS meetings are held, then who should be held accountable? The entire SIR process is fraudulent" .
Broader Pattern of Electoral Irregularities
This incident is not isolated in Madhya Pradesh's electoral landscape:
- Ongoing Legal Challenges: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has been hearing petitions alleging discrepancies in voter list revision programmes for urban body polls, including allegations of ineligible BLO appointments and mass voter registrations at invalid addresses .
- Previous Similar Findings: Digvijaya Singh noted he had previously found a house in the same constituency with only 4 actual voters but 108 names registered in the voter list .
- National Context: These allegations emerge amid broader opposition concerns about electoral processes, with Rahul Gandhi recently alleging similar irregularities in Haryana's elections .
The Way Forward: Demands for Action
Digvijaya Singh has demanded concrete action from the Election Commission, stating: "We will demand from the Election Commission that action should be initiated against all the BLOs, AEROs, and Returning Officers who were in charge in 2023 and 2025. These people have included the names of fake voters in the list" .
He further emphasized the systematic nature of the problem, claiming that approximately "25 percent of the voters in Bhopal have fake names on the list" .
This revelation comes amid ongoing national debates about electoral integrity and the need for transparent voter registration processes to maintain public trust in India's democratic system .
.jpg)
