BJP ridicules Rahul Gandhi’s statement that Maha assembly polls were rigged

BJP leaders in Maharashtra dismiss Rahul Gandhi's rigging claims in elections, while Congress plans protests to raise awareness about alleged electoral fraud.

MUMBAI: BJP leaders in Maharashtra have reacted sharply to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charge that the state’s assembly elections last year were rigged. The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a recent op-ed titled ‘Match-fixing Maharashtra’ that the state’s voters suspiciously increased by 3.9 million in five months before the election, and went on to detail the alleged process of the rigging.

Rajgir, Bihar, India -June .06, 2025: Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressing during Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan at Rajgir, Bihar, India, Friday,06. 2025. (HT Photo)

Up in arms, BJP leaders ridiculed Gandhi’s suggestions. While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Gandhi’s claims need not be taken seriously, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed there was a sudden increase in the number of voters before the 2009 assembly polls too, which the Congress-NCP had won. The Shiv Sena (UBT), on the other hand supported Gandhi, with MP Sanjay Raut reiterating that the Maharashtra elections were indeed rigged.

“Rahul Gandhi thinks that people will believe lies if they are told repeatedly,” said Fadnavis. “He has made these claims several times since the elections, and the Election Commission of India (EC) has clarified repeatedly with proof. The poll body has presented facts and figures from previous elections to prove that Gandhi’s claim is baseless, but he is not ready to accept it. By raking up his false claims again and again, he has also insulted our voters and Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahins (beloved sisters) who gave us our victory.”

Fadnavis said that Gandhi’s attempt of levelling allegations against the EC was a sign that he had accepted his party’s defeat in the forthcoming Bihar elections. “It’s high time he stopped fooling himself and accepted the ground reality,” he said. “Until he does this, his party will not be able to win elections.”

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “If Rahul Gandhi is saying that 3.9 million voters were added in just five months ahead of the election suspiciously, then I should tell him what happened in the 2009 assembly polls. There were 72.95 million voters in the Lok Sabha polls held in May 2009, which went up to 75.96 million by the assembly polls in October. This means three million voters were added in just five months.”

Bawankule pointed out that the Congress-NCP alliance came back to power in those assembly polls. “Does this mean your party rigged the voter figures?” he asked. “Gandhi is creating confusion among voters by presenting a half-truth related to the voter figures, but it will not help. Like Maharashtra, the voters in Bihar too are going to discard the Congress in the forthcoming elections.”

The Maharashtra Congress came out in support of Gandhi, with state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal announcing a statewide mashal march (torchlight protest) to protest against the “rigging of the electoral system”. “Why are union home minister Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis replying to questions that Gandhi has asked the EC?” he said. “Is there a conspiracy to use the same pattern in the coming Bihar assembly elections and the local body polls in Mumbai and Maharashtra?”

Sapkal said the country’s democratic system and the credibility of institutions like the EC was at stake. “To create awareness among the people, the Congress will take out a mashal morcha on June 12,” he announced. “I will myself join the protest at Gadchiroli.”

Meanwhile, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said there was no doubt that the Maharashtra elections had been rigged. “The EC should respond to Gandhi’s allegations but I am sure it won’t,” he said. “It is under the thumb of the ruling party.”