Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has stirred fresh political controversy by alleging a systematic subversion of democracy in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, accusing the BJP of “match-fixing” the poll outcome through manipulation of institutions and voter rolls.

In an op-ed published in The Indian Express’ June 7 newspaper, Gandhi claimed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) executed a five-step strategy to rig the elections. The Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP won a decisive 235 out of 288 seats, with the BJP alone bagging 132, its best-ever tally in the state.

Gandhi’s article laid out his allegations in a structured format. “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 posted on X along with the op-ed.

ALSO READ

In the first point, Gandhi criticised the new law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners, calling the selection committee “heavily tilted” in favour of the ruling party. Under the amended framework, the panel includes the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of Opposition or the largest opposition party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, replacing the Chief Justice of India, who was previously part of the panel.

“Ask yourself, why would someone go out of their way to remove a neutral arbiter in an important institution?” Gandhi wrote, implying that the government deliberately removed judicial oversight to gain influence over the poll body.

For steps two and three, Gandhi alleged the electoral rolls were inflated with fake voters and voter turnout figures were suspiciously high. According to him, the final turnout saw a last-minute spike of 7.83 percentage points, amounting to 76 lakh votes, after voting officially ended. He went on to allege the targeted fraudulent voting in key constituencies and suppression of evidence thereafter to mask the manipulation.

EC calls Rahul’s claims ‘unsubstantiated’

The Election Commission of India (ECI) responded sharply, calling Gandhi’s claims “unsubstantiated” and an “affront to the rule of law”.

“All these issues were addressed in detail in our reply to the Indian National Congress on December 24, 2024, and the response is publicly available on our website. Raising these allegations again, while ignoring all facts, is misleading and irresponsible,” the ECI said in a statement.

The Commission further warned that such misinformation “disrespects the legal framework and undermines the tireless work of thousands of election staff who ensure free and fair elections across the country.”

The BJP too dismissed Gandhi’s charges. BJP spokesperson Tuhin Sinha called the accusations “disgraceful” and accused Gandhi of consistently “demonising India’s democratic institutions” without evidence.

‘Five-step guide for manufacturing fake narratives’

Union Health Minister JP Nadda responded to Gandhi with his own “five-step guide” for “manufacturing fake narratives”. Nadda’s sarcastic list described Gandhi’s reaction as a pattern. “Here’s how he does it, step by step: Step 1: Cong gets defeated election after election due to his 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; Step 5: Hopes for headlines over facts,” Nadda posted on X.

“Despite being exposed time and again, he shamelessly keeps peddling lies. And he’s doing this because a defeat in Bihar is certain. Democracy doesn’t need drama—it needs truth,” Nadda further said.