New Delhi: Not for the first time, Rahul Gandhi clashed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) Saturday over his allegation of “industrial scale-rigging” during the Maharashtra assembly elections. The ECI indirectly clapped back at the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, reiterating that his charges were “absurd”, on the same day.
In a social media post, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) retorted that responses to “serious questions” through “unsigned, evasive notes” were unbecoming for a constitutional body such as ECI. “Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,” Rahul posted on X.
Earlier in April this year, ECI sources termed similar claims made by Rahul in the United States—first, in his address before the Indian diaspora in Boston, and second, at Brown University—as “absurd”.
However, this time, Rahul countered on X, saying: “If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra.”
He also demanded the release of CCTV footage from inside the polling booths recorded from 5 pm on the counting day before the Maharashtra assembly election results.
But, ECI is not required to do what he says under the law. In December 2024, the Centre amended the Conduct of Election Rules, effectively removing electronic footage—earlier open to public inspection—from the polling process by stamping it out from the definition of “election papers”.
On earlier occasions, Rahul Gandhi has represented the amendment as indicative of the ECI becoming “compromised”.
In opinion pieces published in different languages in different newspapers, the LoP Saturday repeated the allegations he has been making against the ECI for some time now.
Rahul laid out a “step-by-step” playbook of election rigging in his pieces. “Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll. Step 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence,” he wrote.
Sharing his write-up on X, Rahul also appealed to people to go through the “evidence”, judge for themselves, and demand answers. “Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere, the BJP is losing.”
Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year.
The LoP, through his writing, also sought to substantiate his allegation of rigging in the Maharashtra assembly polls by raising questions on the increase in registered electors in the state from 9.29 crore during the LS polls to 9.70 crore during the assembly polls.
“A crawl of 31 lakh in five years, then a leap of 41 lakh in just five months,” Rahul wrote. “So incredible was this leap that the registered voter total of 9.70 crore was even greater than the 9.54 crore adults in Maharashtra according to the government’s own estimates.”
He also raised suspicions about the rise in total voter turnout between 5 pm and the final figures released by ECI, calling the huge difference a major red flag.
“The polling turnout at 5 pm was 58.22 percent. Even after voting closed, however, [the] turnout kept increasing more and more. The final turnout was reported only the next morning to be 66.05 percent … The unprecedented 7.83 percentage point increase is equivalent to 76 lakh voters—much higher than previous Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra,” Rahul stated.
Hours after the piece came out, the ECI, without naming anyone, relayed through its sources that “defaming the poll panel after receiving an unfavourable verdict from the voters is absolutely absurd”.
The ECI sources said the rise in total voter turnout is not abnormal in the slightest way and that Rahul’s allegations about the electoral rolls had no substance.
“After the finalisation of the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra election, as against the 9,77,90,752 (over 9.77 crore) electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority—the district magistrate concerned—and only one was filed before the second appellate authority—the state chief electoral officer,” according to the sources.
Therefore, the ECI sources added, it was amply clear that the Congress or any other political party had no grievance before the Maharashtra assembly elections, which it supervised in 2024.
Asserting that the ECI has replied to all the allegations levelled by the Congress earlier on 24 December 2024, the ECI sources added that over one lakh booth-level officers of Maharashtra are waiting for the “wild allegations” to turn into “at least one single real appeal before district magistrates” in line with the election laws that exist to avoid discrepancies in the list of electors.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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