Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified his demand for transparency from the Election Commission on Saturday, urging for the release of digital voter lists and post-5 PM CCTV footage from polling stations in Maharashtra. This move comes amidst an ongoing confrontation with the Election Commission, which has rejected his ‘match-fixing’ allegations regarding the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election. Sources from the EC remarked, 'It's peculiar that instead of directly addressing the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi persists in seeking responses to his baseless doubts on other platforms. On December 24, 2024, the Election Commission had already provided a comprehensive letter to Congress addressing similar issues. It remains unclear why Rahul Gandhi hesitates to write personally to the EC for a response.'
On social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi posted, 'Dear Election Commission, you are a constitutional body. Issuing unsigned, evasive notes through intermediaries is not how serious questions are addressed. If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions posed in my article and prove it by publishing digital voter lists for recent parliamentary and assembly elections across states, including Maharashtra, and release all CCTV footage after 5 PM from the polling stations in Maharashtra. Avoidance will not safeguard your credibility. Speaking the truth surely will.'
The Election Commission dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claims of electoral fraud in last year's Maharashtra assembly election as vague and utterly absurd, thoroughly refuting each allegation made by the Congress MP. The electoral body stated, 'Labeling the EC as compromised for alleged match-fixing following any unfavorable voter decision is patently absurd.' Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi, in his article shared with the Indian Express, alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election results were manipulated in favor of the BJP and that fake voter names were added to the list.
He further accused a modification to the laws controlling the appointment of election commissioners and the chief election commissioner, removing the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel, thus heavily favoring the center. Rejecting Rahul Gandhi's 'match-fixing' allegations, the Election Commission declared that the entire voting process was conducted transparently, with all political party agents present at polling and counting centers. The EC noted that the authorized agents from Congress raised no objections or complaints concerning anomalous voting.
Labeling Rahul Gandhi's allegations as 'baseless,' the Election Commission reiterated that it had immediately responded to similar accusations made by Congress after the Maharashtra assembly election results, stating, 'The facts were presented to Congress in a response dated December 24, 2024, which are accessible on the Election Commission's website. It appears that these facts are being entirely overlooked while repeatedly raising similar issues.' The India Block led by Congress faced an embarrassing defeat in last year's Maharashtra assembly election, securing only 46 out of 288 seats, despite surpassing the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in the state’s parliamentary elections months earlier. Following this dismal performance in the state assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi claimed that mysteriously, 7 million voters were added to Maharashtra’s voter list between the 2024 parliamentary and assembly elections. In response, the Election Commission shared data demonstrating that 4.081 million, and not 7 million, voters were added in the 5 months between the two elections.
ECI Responds to Rahul Gandhi's Allegations
Dismissing Rahul Gandhi's claims, the ECI stated, 'Voter lists in Maharashtra and throughout India are crafted in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. As per the law, these lists are revised just before elections and/or once a year, with the final copies handed over to all national and state political parties, including the Indian National Congress (INC).' ECI further indicated, 'Following the finalization of voter lists during the Maharashtra election, of 97,790,752 voters, only 89 appeals were filed before the First Appellate Authority (DM), and 1 before the Second Appellate Authority (CEO). Clearly, there were no complaints from Congress or any political party regarding the voter lists prior to the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election.'
The Election Commission went on, 'During the Maharashtra assembly elections, 64,087,588 voters cast their votes between 7 AM and 6 PM. On average, approximately 5.8 million votes were cast per hour. According to these trends, around 11.6 million voters would have cast their votes in the last two hours. Therefore, casting 6.5 million votes during two hours is significantly less than the average per-hour voting trends. Furthermore, voting took place openly before formally appointed polling agents from the candidates/political parties at each center. Congress nominees or their authorized agents raised no substantiated allegations regarding anomalous voting during the verification time the next day before the Returning Officer (RO) and election observers.'
