'Article vs Article': Devendra Fadnavis Responds To Rahul Gandhi's Poll Rigging Claim
Quick Read
Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed.
Devendra Fadnavis has responded to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of electoral fraud in Maharashtra.
He criticized Mr Gandhi for questioning the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Mr Fadnavis said that Mr Gandhi is a leader "who cannot accept failure".
Mumbai:
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he claimed "match-fixing" in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections and said the "one whom the public rejects, rejects the mandate."
His response comes a day after Mr Gandhi, in an op-ed for The Indian Express, questioned the way the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in which the alliance of the Congress, the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena suffered a humiliating defeat, were conducted.
"If you cannot convince people, then confuse them. This is the policy that Rahul Gandhi is adopting," Mr Fadnavis wrote in a Marathi daily on Sunday, a day after he said he would respond to the "article with an article".
He said the Congress has been rejected by the people, which is why they are now tarnishing the image of democracy by blaming the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
"It has now become a habit for the opposition parties to raise questions on the EVM in every election in Maharashtra. All petitions against the EVM have been dismissed by the Supreme Court," the senior BJP leader wrote.
Mr Fadnavis also said that Mr Gandhi is a leader "who cannot accept failure".
"Are EVMs right in the elections in which the Congress government wins?" he asked.
"Respect the mandate. The public is watching everyone. Now, excuses will not work, and the accountability will be fixed," he concluded.
The alliance of the Congress, Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi, managed to win only 46 of the state's 288 assembly seats between them in the November 20 elections.
The BJP-led alliance, Mahayuti, which comprised the then Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, secured 235 seats. The BJP alone won 132 seats, its best performance in the state's history.
What Rahul Gandhi Said On Maharashtra Polls
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, outlined the alleged electoral irregularities in the Maharashtra polls in a five-step manner.
"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," Mr Gandhi wrote in a post on X that accompanied a cutout of his June 7 op-ed.
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… pic.twitter.com/ntCwtPVXTu
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2025
In the article, the Congress MP said he has "doubted the fairness of Indian elections, not every time, not everywhere, but often enough".
"I am not talking of small-scale cheating, but of industrial-scale rigging involving the capture of our national institutions," he wrote.
"But if some earlier election outcomes seemed odd, the outcome of the 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections is glaringly strange. The scale of rigging was so desperate that, despite all efforts to conceal it, tell-tale evidence has emerged from official statistics, without reliance on any nonofficial source, revealing a step-by-step playbook," he added.
He said that "rigging is like match-fixing - the fixing side might win a game, but irreparable damage is done to institutions and to people's faith in the result."
"Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," Mr Gandhi said.
Hours after his X post, the Election Commission re-released a document it had issued in April this year and said his allegations are "completely absurd".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
If my voice brought India's issues to forefront, that's my service to nation: Priyanka Chaturvedi
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has strongly defended India's recent global anti-terror outreach mission across Europe, calling it both timely and necessary to expose the global threat posed by Pakistan-backed terrorism. Chaturvedi was part of the high-level All-Party Parliamentary Delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad under 'Operation Sindoor Outreach,' which presented India's firm stance against cross-border terrorism and garnered international support. Reflecting on the trip, Chaturvedi said the delegation had a clear mission: 'That was my responsibility. And if my speeches have influenced people and brought the country's issues to the forefront, I consider it my service to the nation.' She added, 'I hope that in near future, the European nations, because my group toured six countries—will understand that the terrorism we have been enduring for decades is now reaching their homes.' The delegation visited France, Italy, Denmark, the UK, Belgium, and Germany. During the tour, Indian MPs met foreign lawmakers, think tanks, and diaspora groups to raise awareness about radicalization and safe havens for terror groups operating from Pakistan. Chaturvedi highlighted the growing threat of radicalisation abroad, saying: 'The way indoctrination and radicalization are taking place, and everyone's wires are connected to Pakistan, whether it's Al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Mohammed, or Lashkar-e-Taiba, everyone lives in safe houses there. They are protected.' She emphasised that, 'It was a successful trip where we were able to keep the country's interests safe.' Responding to political criticism that sending delegations abroad was a waste of public money, Chaturvedi hit back: 'Many leaders are saying that sending foreign delegations was a waste of money and time. I hope they will take a debriefing from their own party members who were also part of these delegations, ask them what was discussed, how it was said, and what their role was.' When asked about her passionate speeches and even mimicry of Pakistani political figures like Hina Rabbani Khar or Bilawal Bhutto (referred to as "Minamal Bhutto" in some circles), Chaturvedi firmly rooted her motivation in personal experience. 'After 26/11, the terrorist attack in Mumbai, I was deeply affected and came into politics. I know how many homes are destroyed because of terrorism. How many women struggle to manage households. Terrorism tries to destroy businesses and the country's stability.' The Operation Sindoor Outreach initiative helped India draw sharper international attention to terrorism and its sources like Pakistan, and has provided a unified national narrative on the global stage.
Time of India
19 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘They look for excuses': Chirag Paswan slams Rahul Gandhi amid EC row, says LoP has 'accepted defeat' in Bihar polls
File photo: Union minister Chirag Paswan and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi (Picture credit: ANI) NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday claimed that Congress MP and leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi , has already conceded defeat in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections , citing Gandhi's recent remarks targeting the Election Commission of India (ECI). Speaking to reporters, Paswan accused Gandhi of deflecting blame and targeting constitutional bodies instead of holding his own party accountable. "The problem with Congress and its leaders is that when introspection is needed, they look for excuses for losing elections," Paswan said, as quoted by the news agency ANI. "If Rahul Gandhi needs to find faults in any institution, it should not be a constitutional institution, but his own Congress party. Blaming the Election Commission, accusing someone of fixing elections, saying that the EVM is faulty, all this shows that Rahul Gandhi has already accepted defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections. " Bihar will go to the polls later this year. Paswan further predicted that after Bihar, the opposition will suffer defeats in Assam and West Bengal as well. Meanwhile, RJD leader and Bihar's leader of opposition, Tejashwi Yadav , came out in strong support of Gandhi. Speaking in Patna, Yadav accused the BJP of compromising constitutional institutions, claiming, "Ever since Narendra Modi has become the Prime Minister, all constitutional institutions have been hijacked. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Windows Users Don't Forget To Do This Before Sunday Read More Undo Before the ECI announces the elections, the BJP IT Cell knows the schedule." Tejashwi said the opposition's efforts were not just about power. "Everyone is working together, not to form the government, but to strengthen Bihar," he added, backing Gandhi's criticism of the ECI. Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had on Saturday posted on X criticising the ECI's response to his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. He wrote, 'Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions.' He urged the Commission to publish machine-readable electoral rolls and release all CCTV footage from polling booths post-5 pm to ensure transparency. 'Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,' he wrote. The ECI later dismissed Gandhi's remarks, calling his allegations "unsubstantiated" and an 'affront to the rule of law.' The Commission said that all relevant facts had been shared with the Congress party in December 2024 and are publicly available. The poll panel warned that spreading misinformation disrespects the law and demotivates lakhs of honest poll workers. 'After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission... is completely absurd,' the Commission said in a detailed statement. In his op-ed titled Match-fixing Maharashtra, Gandhi had alleged that the state elections were a 'blueprint for rigging democracy', involving fake voters, inflated turnout, targeted bogus voting, and concealed evidence.
Hans India
30 minutes ago
- Hans India
Karnataka Police Had Issued Pre-Event Warning Before Fatal Bengaluru Stampede
New revelations show that senior police officials had explicitly warned the Karnataka government about potential security lapses and overcrowding risks before the Royal Challengers Bengaluru victory celebration that resulted in a tragic stampede claiming 11 lives on June 4. An official letter written on the morning of the incident by Deputy Commissioner of Police MN Karibasavana Gowda has exposed that authorities were forewarned about the dangers of hosting the felicitation event at Vidhana Soudha. The communication, sent to top government officials, outlined specific concerns about crowd management and inadequate security arrangements. Gowda, who oversaw legislature security, addressed his warning to G Sathyavathi, Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. His letter explicitly stated that "lakhs of cricket fans are likely to come to Vidhana Soudha" and emphasized that insufficient security personnel would create significant challenges for crowd control and safety management. The police official's correspondence highlighted critical infrastructure deficiencies, particularly noting the absence of proper CCTV surveillance coverage in the sensitive government zone. He stressed that the combination of massive expected attendance and security shortfalls would create a potentially dangerous situation during the RCB celebration event. Despite these advance warnings, the event received official approval from authorities. The letter was reportedly shared with then-Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda, who further escalated the concerns to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh. However, the celebration proceeded as planned, ultimately resulting in the deadly crowd surge. Hours before the tragic incident occurred, senior IAS officer G Sathyavathi, who was responsible for managing the Vidhana Soudha event, publicly urged fans to relocate to the nearby stadium instead. The RCB team was initially honored at the legislature building before celebrations continued at the stadium, but the crowd management issues had already reached critical levels. The aftermath of the stampede led to immediate administrative action, with B Dayananda being suspended by Karnataka's home department just one day after the incident. Officials cited serious planning and coordination failures during the RCB victory celebrations as the reason for his removal from the position. The tragedy has sparked intense political controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party launching sharp criticism against the Congress-led state government. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy condemned what he termed "complete failure in crowd management," arguing that authorities should have anticipated the massive turnout following RCB's historic IPL victory. Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy directly blamed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for the incident, characterizing it as the result of "impatience, immaturity, and irresponsibility." He questioned whether such a hastily organized felicitation ceremony was necessary given the obvious risks involved. Union Minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje criticized the decision to use Vidhana Soudha's grand staircase for a private team's celebration, noting that the iconic venue had traditionally been reserved for official state functions and swearing-in ceremonies. She accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar of having "blood on their hands" while attempting to shift blame onto police officers. Karandlaje also defended the suspended police commissioner, describing B Dayananda as "a good and honest officer" who was being unfairly scapegoated for the administrative failures of political leadership. In response to the mounting criticism, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar issued a public apology while accusing the BJP of politicizing the tragedy. He acknowledged the government's responsibility and promised to implement better safety protocols for future events to prevent similar incidents. Legal action has been initiated in connection with the stampede, with police filing a First Information Report against multiple parties. The FIR names Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DNA Entertainment (the event organizer), and the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which manages the stadium. Authorities have stated that no formal permission was granted for the stadium portion of the celebrations. The investigation has already resulted in arrests, with Bengaluru Police confirming the detention of RCB's marketing and revenue head, Nikhil Sosale, on Friday. This development suggests that accountability measures are being pursued against both organizational and administrative parties involved in the event planning and execution.
