Congress and allies gained in most of the Maharashtra seats where votes went up: BJP
At a press conference, Union Minister and BJP leader Bhupender Yadav said, 'Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was talking about dropping an 'atom bomb'. Yesterday, a friend told me that he was actually cutting the tree on which he was sitting with an axe.' Responding to Mr. Gandhi's allegations, Mr. Yadav said that in the Maharashtra 2024 Assembly election, the Congress and allies had, in fact, won most of the seats where the votes had increased.
'Threatening language'
He said the 'arrogance' in Mr. Gandhi's language, threatening the Election Commission of India (ECI) with consequences if the Congress comes to power, did not befit the Opposition leader. He accused the Congress leader and his party of attacking the Army and the constitutional institutions.
'The Congress leaders do not even miss an opportunity to speak against the comments made by the Supreme Court. In this country, the Army, the ECI, Parliament, and all the other constitutional institutions work autonomously and independently... it is the duty of a person who abides by the Constitution not to use arrogant and threatening language against these institutions,' he said.
Referring to the Congress leader's press conference on Thursday (August 7, 2025), the BJP leader said Mr. Gandhi's main point was the increase of one crore votes in the Maharashtra Assembly election. 'The details are on the ECI website. In 2024, about 40 lakh votes increased between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but Rahul Gandhi claimed that there was an increase of one crore votes, so there is an error margin of 60%,' he said.
'In Maharashtra, they [the Congress and allies] won most of the seats where the votes had increased. In Mumbra-Kalwa Assembly constituency number 149, where voters went up by 41,663, NCP-Shiv Sena's Jitendra Ahwad won the seat by 96,228 votes,' he said, citing several other instances wherein the Opposition candidates won by large margins.
Stating that the addition or deletion of votes is an independent exercise of the ECI, Mr. Yadav said Mr. Gandhi should file an affidavit on oath before the ECI with respect to his accusations. 'However, he has not done so. His modus operandi has been to 'shoot and scoot, ' said Mr. Yadav, alleging that the Opposition disrupted parliamentary proceedings to evade discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
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