Rahul Gandhi claims Maharashtra polls were ‘blueprint for rigged democracy', BJP hit back

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly polls in 2024 and stated the same will happen in Bihar.

Updated on: Jun 7, 2025, 13:07:09 IST

By HT News Desk

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Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Maharashtra assembly election held last year had been “rigged” and alleged that the same would be repeated in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressing during Mahila Samwad programme in Gaya. (HT Photo)

In a post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, shared his own article published in a newspaper and said, “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.”

Also Read: Right to freedom of speech does not extend to defamatory statements against Indian Army: HC dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s plea

He elaborated, “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 added, “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 damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result.”

He also urged all concerned Indian citizens to demand answers and judge the situation for themselves while evaluating the evidence.

Also Read: What Shashi Tharoor said when asked about Rahul Gandhi's 'Narender-Surrender' remark on PM Modi

Gandhi claimed, “The match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing. Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy.”

The 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls witnessed the decisive victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance with 235 seats, while the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback.

Also Read: ‘Naam Narender, kaam surrender’: Congress takes fresh jibe at PM Modi

What poll panel and BJP say on Rahul Gandhi's claims

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier responded to allegations of a rigged election concerned with voter turnout data. They had also clarified misconceptions regarding the deletion of certain voters from the list.

"Rahul Gandhi is back to his disgraceful antics of demonising the country's institutions. These issues have been repeatedly addressed by the EC in absolute detail," said the BJP's Tuhin Sinha in response to the allegations as quoted by NDTV.

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HT News Desk
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