Maharashtra voter data row: ICSSR moves against CSDS over ‘manipulation’, Sanjay Kumar apologises

The council reiterated its “highest esteem” for the Constitution, as well as underlined that the Election Commission has “held free and fair elections in the world’s largest democracy for decades.”

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), on Tuesday, said it will issue a show-cause notice to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), after the institute’s psephologist Sanjay Kumar admitted to sharing incorrect voter data related to the Maharashtra elections.

Taking to microblogging site X late Tuesday evening, the government-funded research body said it had taken “serious cognisance” of what it termed as “data manipulation” and “biased interpretation” of the Election Commission’s Sample Verification (SIR) exercise.

"It has come to the notice of ICSSR that an individual holding responsible position at CSDS, an ICSSR-funded research institute, has made media statements that had to be retracted subsequently citing glitches in data analysis regarding elections in Maharashtra", it wrote.

It has come to the notice of ICSSR that an individual holding responsible position at CSDS, an ICSSR-funded research institute, has made media statements that had to be retracted subsequently citing glitches in data analysis regarding elections in Maharashtra. Futher, the…

— Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) (@icssr) August 19, 2025

It further added that such conduct amounted to a violation of Grant-in-Aid rules governing institutions supported by the ICSSR.

"ICSSR takes serious cognizance of the data manipulation by CSDS and its attempt to create a narrative with the intention of undermining the sanctity of the Election Commision of India. This is a gross violation of the Grant-in-Aid rules of ICSSR, and ICSSR shall issue a Show Cause Notice to the Institute," it has noted.

The council reiterated its “highest esteem” for the Constitution, as well as underlined that the Election Commission has “held free and fair elections in the world’s largest democracy for decades.”

"ICSSR holds the Indian constitution in highest esteem. Election Commision of India is a high constitutional body which has been holding free and fair elections in the largest democracy of world for decades together," it stated.

The controversy began when Kumar, co-director of Lokniti-CSDS, claimed in a now-deleted social media post that several Maharashtra constituencies had witnessed dramatic changes in voter numbers between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. He cited increases of over 40 percent in Nashik West and Hingna, and declines of over 35 percent in Ramtek and Devlali.

The claims were quickly picked up by opposition leaders and used to back the Congress party’s “vote chori” (vote theft) campaign.

Kumar, however, retracted the claims the next day, acknowledging a misreading of data by his team. “The data in row was misread… I had no intention of spreading misinformation,” he stated in his apology.

This triggered sharp criticism from the BJP, which has accused the Congress of pushing a “false narrative.”

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said Rahul Gandhi had relied on “incorrect figures” to question the Election Commission, and demanded an apology from him.

The Congress has, however, dismissed the BJP’s criticism, arguing that its claims were based on multiple data sources. “We corroborated information with our own evidence and with our partners. Why Sanjay Kumar apologised is his issue, not ours,” party spokesperson Sujata Paul said.

While the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer has not officially commented, the Bihar CEO flagged Kumar’s deleted post, saying opposition leaders had cited it in their criticism of the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, early this week, rejected a petition challenging the validity of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections on grounds of alleged large-scale bogus voting, upholding a Bombay High Court order.