Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 7: The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has drawn strong backing from his INDIA bloc allies after his scathing allegations of “match-fixing” in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections triggered a political firestorm.
Gandhi’s opinion piece, published in a national daily and shared widely on social media, accused the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance of orchestrating large-scale rigging to subvert democracy in Maharashtra. He cited suspiciously high voter turnout, an unprecedented spike in registered voters, and an Election Commission unwilling or unable to address these anomalies.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari echoed Gandhi’s concerns, telling IANS, “He has not said anything new. Under his and Mallikarjun Kharge’s leadership, a delegation was already sent to raise this issue. We saw a suspiciously large vote share swing from Parliament to the Assembly, with nearly all of it going to the BJP.”
He added, “Votes were low in the evening, but by morning turnout had mysteriously surged. Rahul Gandhi is right to call this a murder of democracy. The Election Commission has failed to answer these questions, but the public will respond.”
NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MP Supriya Sule said she had discussed the article with party chief Sharad Pawar. “The Congress has already approached the Election Commission, and we’re monitoring developments closely,” she said.
Congress leader Udit Raj called Gandhi’s piece factual, highlighting that voter rolls inexplicably ballooned by 36-37 lakh within just five months. “Such an increase hasn’t been seen even over five years, let alone four months. The Election Commission has no explanation,” he said.
He also slammed the local administration for obstructing mock polling exercises. “If they are confident, let them hold mock polls nationwide — then the truth will come out. The BJP would see they lost Haryana and Maharashtra,” he claimed.
Congress leader Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar described Gandhi’s claims as evidence-based. “He has shown that the Maharashtra elections were manipulated through match-fixing. Voter numbers increased by 9% — impossible. In Kamathi Assembly, votes rose by 35,000 in five months compared to 17,000 over the previous five years,” he said.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari added, “Rahul Gandhi is absolutely right. People believe the BJP rigs elections — we saw this in Bihar in 2020 when the mandate was going to Tejashwi Yadav, but was overturned. The Election Commission must give a clear, transparent response.”
Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani echoed those concerns, alleging voter deletions and sudden surges in new voters, alongside suspected EVM tampering. “Mallikarjun Kharge has also flagged this. Money power, police, and agencies like ED, CBI, and Income Tax were misused to distort the election process,” he charged.
In his article, Gandhi detailed what he called a step-by-step rigging operation: manipulating the panel that appoints the Election Commission, inflating voter rolls, and suppressing scrutiny of irregularities.
He described an “unprecedented” rise in voter turnout after polling hours and claimed over 76 lakh extra votes were inexplicably added, helping the BJP dominate in 85 key constituencies.
As the controversy deepens, all eyes are now on the Election Commission to respond to these serious allegations — and on the Maharashtra electorate to see how they react in upcoming elections.