Rahul Gandhi Doubles Down On Maharashtra Poll Rigging Charge, Dares ECI To Release Voter Rolls And CCTV Footage

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stepped up his criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of avoiding accountability over alleged electoral manipulation in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In a sharp post on X, Gandhi said the poll body should respond“in a proper manner” instead of issuing“unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries.” He urged the ECI to release detailed digital records of the election to maintain public trust.

Dear EC,You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions 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

“Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions,” Gandhi posted.“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 releasing all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.”

He added,“Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will.”

ECI vs Rahul Gandhi

His remarks came hours after the Election Commission dismissed his earlier claims as“unsubstantiated” and“absurd.” Gandhi had earlier alleged a five-step rigging method involving fake voters, inflated turnout, and selective tampering, and warned that a similar pattern could emerge in the upcoming Bihar elections.

Gandhi also questioned the integrity of the electoral system under BJP rule, calling the alleged manipulation a“match-fixing” that damages public faith in democracy.

The ECI has yet to respond directly to Gandhi's new demands.

ECI on Rahul Gandhi's Maharashtra poll rigging charge charge

In response to the allegation made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi regarding the Maharashtra election, the Election Commission had earlier described it as“unsubstantiated allegations.”

The ECI statement reads, "Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are completely being ignored while raising such issues again and again..." 

The ECI stated that spreading misinformation is "disrespect towards law," and attempts to defame are“completely absurd.”

"Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards the Law, but also brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections. After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd," read the reply. 

Rahul Gandhi earlier on Saturday, 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.

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.

(With ANI inputs)

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