Big Charge : Rahul Gandhi Targets Election Commission, Alleges Maharashtra Assembly Polls Was Fixed, Bihar Next

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a ‘blueprint for rigging democracy’ and alleged this ‘match-fixing’ would next happen in Bihar, even as the Election Commission rejected the charge saying defaming the poll panel after an unfavourable verdict is absolutely absurd.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also hit out at Gandhi over the allegations with party chief J P Nadda accusing the Congress leader of cooking up ‘bizarre conspiracies’ and ‘fake narratives’ out of desperation after losing a series of elections.

As the two rival parties and EC sparred over the issue, Gandhi again hit out at the poll panel after sources in the Commission debunked his charges, saying evasion would not protect its credibility but telling the truth would.

Gandhi made the allegations related to Maharashtra polls in an article published in several newspapers and later in his posts on X.

‘My article shows how this (rigging) happened, step by step: 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 the BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence,’ Gandhi alleged in his post.

Gandhi said fixed elections are a ‘poison’ for any democracy, and the side that cheats may win the game, but it damages institutions and destroys public faith.

Lashing out at Gandhi, Nadda said his article is a ‘blueprint for manufacturing fake narratives’, owing to his sadness and desperation of losing election after election.

He said, ‘Here’s how he does it, step by step. Step 1: The Congress Party gets defeated in election after election due to its antics. Step 2: Instead of introspecting, he cooks up bizarre conspiracies and cries rigging. Step 3: Ignores all facts and data. Step 4: Defames institutions with zero proof.’