During his official tour of the United States, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi stirred political controversy with strong remarks targeting the Election Commission of India.
Speaking at a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Boston, as part of his Rahul Gandhi US visit 2025, he described the Election Commission as "compromised" and cast doubt on the transparency and integrity of the electoral process in the country, particularly in light of the Indian elections 2024 controversy.
Citing the Maharashtra voter turnout controversy, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the official voter numbers released during the 2024 Assembly elections were implausible.
"The Election Commission gave a voting figure at 5:30 pm, and between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, 65 lakh additional votes were recorded. It is physically impossible," he claimed during his Rahul Gandhi Boston speech.
He argued that, given the average time required to cast a vote, polling stations would have had to remain open until 2 am to accommodate such a surge—something that did not occur.
Rahul Gandhi further intensified his critique by suggesting that the total number of voters surpassed the actual adult population of Maharashtra, implying serious discrepancies in the data. He also accused the Election Commission of avoiding transparency by denying access to video recordings of the polling process.
According to him, the Commission not only rejected videography requests but also changed rules to prevent such requests in the future—an allegation that formed a key part of his Rahul Gandhi Election Commission remarks.
His Rahul Gandhi ECS remark—referring to the Election Commission being compromised—echoed his recurring narrative of institutional erosion and growing democratic deficits in India. “Something is very wrong with the system,” he said, reinforcing his broader India democracy criticism that has often been voiced on international platforms.
The BJP reaction to Rahul Gandhi was swift and scathing. BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill responded by accusing him of engaging in political theatrics abroad.
“Rahul Gandhi suffers from ECS — Entitled Child Syndrome,” he said, adding that Gandhi’s frequent criticisms of Indian democracy on foreign soil have become a disturbing habit. BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari labelled Gandhi “anti-democracy and anti-India,” suggesting that his statements were aimed at undermining the credibility of Indian institutions due to repeated electoral failures.
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BJP MP Sambit Patra, referencing Gandhi’s ongoing legal troubles, remarked, “Those out on bail think they can defame this great democracy.”
Rahul Gandhi’s comments also come in the backdrop of earlier allegations from the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. They had claimed voter list manipulation in Maharashtra, but the Election Commission dismissed these accusations as “misleading” and “factually incorrect.”
Beyond his critiques, Rahul Gandhi also spoke about India’s relationship with the United States.
Highlighting the importance of strategic cooperation between the two democracies, he said, “We share a partnership with the United States, and I hope we continue to work together.” He concluded his Boston address by thanking the Indian-American community for supporting Congress values abroad, stating, “Thank you for carrying the flag here — it’s a powerful thing.”
This latest episode in the ongoing Rahul Gandhi vs BJP battle adds another layer of tension to the political climate in the aftermath of the 2024 elections, as concerns over electoral integrity and institutional independence remain hotly debated topics across the country.
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