Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit back at the Election Commission after the poll panel dismissed his ‘match-fixing’ allegations over the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls as “completely absurd”. The Leader Of Opposition in the Lok Sabha laid down two demands before the Election Commission, saying that “evasion” would not protect its credibility, but telling the truth would.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi had stoked a controversy after he alleged “match-fixing” in the Maharashtra polls last year, claiming that a “blueprint for rigging democracy” was in play. He also alleged that it would next happen in the Bihar elections and “anywhere the BJP is losing”.
Responding to Gandhi’s charges, the poll body later said that any misinformation being spread by anyone brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by political parties during elections and demotivates lakhs of poll staff who work tirelessly for the gigantic exercise.
The Election Commission also pointed out that “unsubstantiated allegations” raised against the Maharashtra election are an affront to the rule of law.
Following this response by ECI, Rahul Gandhi took to X and wrote: “Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions.”
He then went on to state his two demands, and added: “If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra by releasing all post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.”
“Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,” Gandhi added.
Dear EC,
You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions.
If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by:
• Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2025
Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Match-Fixed’ Election Claims
Gandhi had earlier said that match-fixed elections are a “poison” for any democracy. He also outlined the alleged electoral irregularities in a stepwise manner in a post on X. These included: fake voters added, the voter turnout inflated, bogus voting facilitated and evidence subsequently hidden.
The Congress leader shared an op-ed published in The Indian Express on his X account, and wrote “How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy.”
“My article shows how this 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 BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence.
“It’s not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing – the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,” Gandhi said.
