The Election Commission has struck back sharply at Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, demanding that he submit his claims in a signed affidavit and provide supporting evidence.
Rahul Gandhi has reiterated his criticism of the Election Commission – accusing it of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to commit voter fraud in Karnataka and Maharashtra last year, and claiming it is preparing to do the same in Bihar later this year through the ‘special intensive revision’.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament on Tuesday morning, the Congress MP said, “There are many seats… not just one or two… in which this was done. It is being done at a national level… systematically. The Election Commission knows this. Earlier, there was no proof. Now there is…”
“We are protecting the Constitution… the Election Commission is not doing its duty of ‘one person, one vote’. Abhi picture baaki hai (there is more to come),” he added with a slight smile.
Mr Gandhi’s teaser remark came 24 hours after high drama outside the Parliament building.
The Congress leader and others from the INDIA opposition bloc staged a vociferous protest on Monday afternoon, pressing the poll panel to release machine-readable voter lists instead of scanned photographs of the list – a format that makes checking for errors almost impossible.
Delhi Police detained Mr Gandhi and 29 opposition MPs, including the Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut.
As they were transported away in police buses, Mr Gandhi told reporters, “This fight is not political… it is to save the Constitution. The fight is for ‘one person, one vote’.”
Last week, Mr Gandhi issued another warning to the Election Commission: “Think twice before attacking the Constitution. We will catch you, one by one… (and) if you don’t provide us with data (i.e., voter lists and poll booth video recordings over the past decade)… You cannot hide.”
The opposition has alleged large-scale voter fraud during the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka in April-May last year and the Maharashtra Assembly election in October. In both cases, they have claimed, lakhs of illegal votes – allegedly favouring the BJP – were cast and counted.
Last week, Mr Gandhi delivered two PowerPoint presentations at INDIA bloc meetings. He presented data indicating that 1.02 lakh illegal votes – including an instance of 80 voters registered at the same address, a one-room tenement in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura area – were cast in the federal election.
According to him, those votes led to the Congress losing the Bengaluru Central seat. The BJP’s PC Mohan won that seat from the Congress’ Mansoor Khan by 33,000 votes.
Mr Gandhi and the opposition have made similar allegations regarding the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, claiming that over one crore voters appeared on the voter rolls just four months after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance suffered a major defeat in the Lok Sabha election in the state.
The opposition’s protests have been further intensified by the ‘special intensive revision’ of the Bihar voter list, an exercise ordered by the Election Commission months before state polls. The revision has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission has firmly rejected all these allegations, maintaining that its processes are transparent and designed to ensure free and fair elections. It has also pushed back strongly at Mr Gandhi’s charges, demanding that he substantiate them in a sworn affidavit.
In a particularly forceful rebuttal on Friday, the Election Commission referred to a 2018 petition by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, accusing the Congress of having “tried to mislead the Supreme Court”.
The BJP, meanwhile, has criticised Rahul Gandhi for “maligning a constitutional body”.
“If Rahul Gandhi values his credibility, he must, under a declaration or oath, submit the names of the ineligible electors he claims are on the voter list…” BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote on X. “Failure to do so will make it clear he has no real case and was merely engaging in political theatre.”
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