Despite making serious allegations of electoral rigging, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP from Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi, has not formally approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) even 24 hours after raising the issue, sources within the poll body said on Sunday.
According to the sources, Gandhi has neither written a letter to the ECI nor sought time for a meeting regarding his claims that the Assembly elections held in November last year were rigged. “Any Constitutional body, including the Election Commission, formally responds only when a written communication is received,” a source said, underlining that the ECI is still awaiting such a communication from the Congress leader.
The sources added that while Rahul Gandhi claims his concerns are serious, he has not taken the procedural step of officially communicating them in writing. “He continues to speak about these issues in public but avoids putting them in black and white to the Commission,” the sources said.
They also noted that the Indian National Congress (INC) had been invited by the Commission for a meeting on 15 May, but the party had asked for more time.
Poll body sources said that Gandhi appeared unsettled by the ECI’s point-by-point rebuttal issued on Saturday in response to his allegations. The rebuttal, they said, was factual and detailed. “In fact, Rahul Gandhi has ended up criticising his own party’s Booth Level Agents, as well as the Polling and Counting Agents appointed by INC candidates in Maharashtra,” the sources remarked.
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They further claimed that Gandhi’s statements have demoralised the extensive election workforce across the country, including the 10.5 lakh Booth Level Officers, 50 lakh Polling Officers, and 1 lakh Counting Supervisors deployed during the elections. “By questioning the integrity of the electoral process, Rahul Gandhi is indirectly casting doubt on the work of these lakhs of officials,” the sources said.
On his demand for access to CCTV footage from polling stations, the sources clarified that such footage is legally accessible only through competent High Courts in the course of election petitions. This, they emphasised, is in accordance with ECI regulations that are designed to maintain both the transparency of elections and the privacy of voters. "Why does Shri Rahul Gandhi, or his agents, want to invade voter privacy, which is protected under electoral law? Does he not trust even the High Courts now?" a source questioned.
The sources also accused Gandhi of now relying on the Congress party to back his claims, rather than addressing the issues himself. “Earlier, Shri Rahul Gandhi was posting directly in media and on Twitter. But now, after facing nationwide criticism, the INC has taken over the task of defending his statements through party handles and prominent leaders,” they claimed.
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Rahul Gandhi had, on Saturday, called on the Election Commission to release consolidated, digital, and machine-readable voter rolls for recent Lok Sabha and state elections, including those in Maharashtra. He argued that transparency would strengthen the poll panel’s credibility. Referring to the ECI’s response to his claims, Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions.”
In its rebuttal, the Election Commission rejected the allegations and labelled them as “unsubstantiated.” The Commission stated that similar issues had already been addressed in its official reply to the Congress Party on 24 December 2024, which is available on its website.
“Unsubstantiated allegations against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law,” the ECI said. “Any misinformation being spread is not only disrespectful to the law but also damages the reputation of thousands of representatives appointed by the political parties themselves and demotivates the lakhs of election staff who conduct polls fairly and diligently.”
The ECI concluded that attempts to question the Commission’s integrity following an unfavourable electoral outcome reflect poorly on those making the accusations. “Trying to discredit the Commission after an electoral defeat by claiming it is compromised is entirely baseless,” it said.
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