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NDTV
6 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
'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… — 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".
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Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Visit Bengal to see real democracy under Mamata: Sukanta Majumdar to Rahul
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar stated that he should visit West Bengal to see democracy under the Mamata Banerjee government. Sukanta Majumdar said, "The problem with our Opposition is that wherever they win, they say EVMs are right, and where they lose, they say EVMs are faulty and there is match-fixing. Some kids do not know how to play the match then they blame the pitch and umpire. Rahul Gandhi does not know how to play. I wish that his prediction that the states in which there is no BJP government will have a BJP rule should come true. In Bengal, also BJP government should be formed according to his prediction." He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi should visit West Bengal to understand democracy under the TMC rule. "Rahul Gandhi never visits Bengal. He should come to Bengal to see how the match is played here. He should see how Congress workers are beaten here often. Rahul Gandhi should visit West Bengal to see democracy under the Mamata Banerjee government," he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the Maharashtra Assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar Assembly polls due later this year. In a 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. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. "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 the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said.


Time of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
LOP's desperation over Congress losses on display: BJP
NEW DELHI: Top BJP functionaries including party president J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday reacted vehemently to Congress member Rahul Gandhi's latest claim questioning the Maharashtra assembly polls, saying that the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha was reflecting his desperation after his party's losses and the looming one in Bihar assembly polls. "Rahul Gandhi's latest article is a blueprint for manufacturing fake narratives, owing to his sadness and desperation of losing election after election," said Nadda in response to Gandhi's article which appeared in a national daily on Saturday. Citing factors that "doomed" Congress in recent polls, Nadda said Congress gets defeated election after election due to his (Rahul Gandhi's) antics. "Instead of introspecting, he cooks up bizarre conspiracies and cries rigging. Ignores all facts and data. Defames institutions with zero proof and hopes for headlines over facts," the BJP president said in a post on X. Nadda said despite being exposed time and again, Rahul shamelessly keeps peddling lies. "And, he is doing this because a defeat in Bihar is certain," he said adding that democracy doesn't need drama but truth. Pradhan said Rahul Gandhi's post on Maharashtra elections is nothing more than a predictable script-lose elections, discredit institutions, fabricate conspiracies, and portray himself as a victim of an imaginary system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 신차장기렌트 첫달 렌트료 전액지원해드립니다. 신차장기렌트센터 더 알아보기 Undo "But India's democracy is far stronger than the insecurities of a dynast who refuses to accept repeated electoral verdicts," Pradhan, a prominent OBC face of BJP, said. He said it there's any rigging Rahul should be worried about, it's the kind his own party mastered for decades-from Emergency to misusing Article 356 over 90 times to dismiss opposition govts. "Let's not forget, this is the same Rahul Gandhi who falsely claimed in Cambridge that Indian democracy is 'dead', yet participates in elections, campaigns freely, and blames EVMs only when he loses," the senior BJP functionary said.


India Gazette
14 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
He should visit Bengal, see democracy under Mamata Banerjee: Sukanta Majumdar on Rahul Gandhi's claim
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 7 (ANI): Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar stated that he should visit West Bengal to see democracy under the Mamata Banerjee government. Sukanta Majumdar said, 'The problem with our Opposition is that wherever they win, they say EVMs are right, and where they lose, they say EVMs are faulty and there is match-fixing. Some kids do not know how to play the match then they blame the pitch and umpire. Rahul Gandhi does not know how to play. I wish that his prediction that the states in which there is no BJP government will have a BJP rule should come true. In Bengal, also BJP government should be formed according to his prediction.' He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi should visit West Bengal to understand democracy under the TMC rule. 'Rahul Gandhi never visits Bengal. He should come to Bengal to see how the match is played here. He should see how Congress workers are beaten here often. Rahul Gandhi should visit West Bengal to see democracy under the Mamata Banerjee government,' he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the Maharashtra Assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged', and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar Assembly polls due later this year. In a 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. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. '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 the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence,' Gandhi said. (ANI)


India Gazette
18 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Instead of finding excuses, it is time for introspection," Chirag Paswan slams Rahul Gandhi on poll rigging claims
Patna (Bihar) [India], June 7 (ANI): Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday took a dig at Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his recent tweet alleging poll rigging in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Paswan dismissed the claims, stating that the Congress is resorting to excuses in anticipation of defeat in the upcoming elections. 'Now they are looking for excuses because they are going to lose the next election. They know that they are going to lose the Bihar assembly elections... Till now, they were blaming EVMs... Now they have found a new excuse... After independence, you remained in power for 55 years, and today, if the public is rejecting you, then instead of finding excuses, it is time for introspection,' he said. On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged', and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. In a 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. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. '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,' Gandhi said. He further labelled rigging as 'match-fixing', saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. '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 will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,' the Rae Bareli MP said. Gandhi warned that the 'match-fixing' of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then 'anywhere' the BJP was losing elections. 'Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,' he added.(ANI)