The Mahayuti alliance’s decisive victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections, winning 235 out of 288 seats, has left the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in turmoil. Struggling to come to terms with this devastating defeat, MVA leaders have resorted to allegations of election fraud, including claims of EVM tampering. Amid this, a video has surfaced showing protests in Avadhan village, Maharashtra. Protesters allege that despite 70% of the villagers reportedly voting for the Congress party, the party received zero votes, raising suspicions of electoral malpractice.
Congress leader Pankhuri Pathak stated, ‘70% people of Avadhan village in Maharashtra are protesting. The reason is that despite their votes, Congress got 0 votes here. Now, people are coming out on the streets and saying this. How much more proof is needed that the BJP is stealing votes?’
महाराष्ट्र के अवधान गांव के 70% लोग विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे हैं ।
— Pankhuri Pathak पंखुड़ी पाठक پنکھڑی (@pankhuripathak) November 25, 2024
कारण यह है कि इनके वोट देने के बावजूद कांग्रेस को यहां 0 वोट मिले हैं ।
अब तो जनता सड़क पर उतर कर यह बात बना रही है।
भाजपा द्वारा वोटों की चोरी करी जाती है इसका और कितना प्रमाण चाहिए ? pic.twitter.com/dfRAcDlhkB
Surbhi Maradiya claimed, ‘Protest against Election Commission has started in a village in Maharashtra! 70% of the village voters voted for Congress and the votes turned out to be zero!’
महाराष्ट्र के गांव में चुनाव आयोग का विरोध शुरू हो गया !
— Surbhi Maradiya (@SurabhiMaradiya) November 25, 2024
70% गांव के वोटर्स ने वोट दिया कांग्रेस को और निकले वोट शून्य ! pic.twitter.com/8VUIsCAFV9
Krishna Kant alleged, ‘This is how the elections happened in Maharashtra. About 70% of the people of Avadhan village of Dhule constituency voted for Congress candidate Kunal Baba but he got 0 votes. Now the people of the village are protesting. Now people will say that these things are the result of frustration arising from defeat.’
महाराष्ट्र में कुछ ऐसे हुआ चुनाव
— Krishna Kant (@kkjourno) November 25, 2024
धुले सीट के एक गांव अवदान के लगभग 70% लोगों ने कांग्रेस प्रत्याशी कुणाल बाबा को वोट दिया लेकिन मिला उन्हें 0 वोट। अब गांव के लोग विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे हैं।
अब लोग कहेंगे कि यह बातें हार से उपजी कुंठा का परिणाम है। pic.twitter.com/IqVavdM0nu
Apart from this, Ragini Nayak, Hansraj Meena, Murti Nain, Lallan Kumar and Ashok Jambu made this claim.
Also Read: Old Video of Protest Against EVM is From Delhi, Not Maharashtra
Fact Check
We started our fact-check process with relevant keywords related to the matter. Upon searching, we found a series of tweets from the District Information Office, Dhule, clarifying the claims made by opposition politicians and social media users. The District Information Office, Dhule, dismissed the claims as ludicrous, stating: “The Dhule Rural Assembly Constituency has four polling stations, namely 247, 248, 249, and 250 at Avadhan. According to the polling statistics, the Congress candidate received 227 votes at polling station 247, 234 votes at 248, 252 votes at 249, and 344 votes at 250.”
Next, we reviewed the explanation shared through a Twitter thread by the District Information Office, Dhule. The tweet stated: “Rumors and misleading information are being spread on social media about polling station data in Dhule Rural Constituency, Avadhan. Upon verification, Electoral Decision Officer Rohan Kuvar confirmed that this is a rumor and that fake news is being circulated in society by spreading incorrect information.
Since the morning of November 25, 2024, a false claim has been circulating on social media, alleging that Congress candidate Kunal Patil from Dhule Rural Constituency received zero votes at Avadhan polling stations. Additionally, a fake video clip is being used to support this baseless claim. However, polling statistics clearly show that the Dhule Rural Assembly Constituency has four polling stations at Avadhan: polling station 247, where the Congress candidate received 227 votes; polling station 248, where they received 234 votes; polling station 249, where they received 252 votes; and polling station 250, where they received 344 votes. In total, Kunal Patil received 1,057 votes from the four polling stations in Avadhan, out of a total of 2,881 votes cast in the area.
This confirms that the claim of zero votes is entirely false and misleading. Citizens are advised not to believe or circulate such fake news or fabricated videos. Electoral Returning Officer Rohan Kuvar has urged the public to refrain from spreading false messages and to avoid falling prey to rumors.”
सोशल मीडियावर #धुळे ग्रामीण मतदार संघातील #अवधान मतदान केंद्रातील आकडेवारीबाबत अफवा व नागरिकांची दिशाभूल करणारी माहिती पसरवली जात आहे. याबाबत शहानिशा केल्यावर ती अफवा असून फेक न्यूज व्हायरल करून चुकीची माहिती समाजात पसरवली जात असल्याचे निवडणूक निर्णय अधिकारी रोहन कुवर यांनी दिली.
— DISTRICT INFORMATION OFFICE, DHULE (@InfoDhule) November 25, 2024
In the next phase of our investigation, we found data shared by the Electoral Returning Officer for Dhule Rural, showing the votes received by candidates at every polling station in the constituency. As clarified above, the Congress candidate for Dhule Rural, Kunalbaba Rohidas Patil, received 227, 234, 252, and 344 votes at polling stations 247, 248, 249, and 250, respectively, totaling 1,057 votes at Avadhan.
06 धुळे ग्रामीण विधानसभा मतदारसंघातील उमेदवार यांना केंद्र निहाय मिळालेले मत pic.twitter.com/Sq5eRnjydX
— erodhulerural (@erodhulerural06) November 25, 2024
We also reviewed the Election Commission’s official website, which confirmed that Congress candidate Kunalbaba Rohidas Patil received a total of 104,078 votes, securing a 35.96% vote share. Meanwhile, the BJP’s winning candidate, Raghavendra Manohar Patil, received 170,398 votes, achieving a 58.87% vote share.
| Claim | Congress leaders and social media users alleged that the party received zero votes in Avadhan village during the Maharashtra assembly elections. |
| Claimed by | Congress leaders and social media users |
| Conclusion | Congress candidate Kunalbaba Rohidas Patil received 1,057 votes across the four polling stations in Avadhan. |
Also Read: Video of Lathi Charge on Miscreants Is Not From Sambhal
