Maharashtra polls were match-fixed, Bihar next: Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission after the poll watchdog rejected his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election.
Reacting to the EC's refutation attributed to the commission officials who spoke on anonymity, Gandhi said, "Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will".
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Sharing his op-ed published in 'The Indian Express', headlined "Match-fixing Maharashtra", on X, Rahul reiterated the allegations he has been making since the poll's result was announced. The 2024 Maharashtra assembly election was a "blueprint for rigging democracy", he said, alleging that this "match-fixing" would next happen in Bihar and "then anywhere BJP is losing".
If you have nothing to hide, answer questions in my article and prove it by: publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to LS and Vidhan Sabhas of all states
Rahul told EC
On EC officials rejecting his claims, Rahul said, "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 voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra and by releasing all post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths," he demanded.
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Rahul further said, "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."
He said, "It's not hard to see why 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."
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