New Delhi [India], August 2 (ANI): The Election Commission of India on Saturday claimed that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi is yet to respond to its June letter regarding his allegations of “election rigging” in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The EC said the Congress leader has not responded to an official invitation extended to him nearly two months ago. “Why? Is it because his media statements were baseless?” ECI sources asked.
In a letter dated June 12, the Election Commission had invited the Leader of the Opposition for an interaction regarding “rigging” in Maharashtra Assembly elections, he raised in a write-up that he wrote for a newspaper on June 7. He had claimed that the same will be repeated in the Bihar assembly polls due later this year.
The June 12 letter reads, “We presume that any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates. However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues. A convenient date and time may be communicated in this regard at the email ID.”
The poll panel has made public the letter it had sent on June 12 to the Congress MP.
“In view of your article published in Indian Express on 07.06.2025 on Maharashtra Assembly elections held last year, I am directed to state that similar issues were raised by the Indian National Congress (INC) after the assembly elections in November 2024. The Commission had given a detailed reply to the INC on 24th December 2024. A copy of the reply is available on the ECI website,” the letter stated.
“All elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time. As you are aware, the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 1,00,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 1,08,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by National and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of INC, across the state of Maharashtra,” the letter added.
In a June 7 post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the “rigging” in the Maharashtra assembly polls. “Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step,” Gandhi said on X.
The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes “rigging” the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding “fake voters to the electoral roll.”
The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier cleared misconceptions on voter turnout amidst concerns raised by the Congress party after the Maharashtra Assembly elections. In its detailed response to the Congress party, the apex poll body explained the process behind the aggregation of voter turnout data during the election.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.
The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, part of the Mahayuti alliance, also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats. (ANI)
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