The Election Commission of India (ECI) has firmly dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of “match-fixing” in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, calling the claims “completely absurd” and factually baseless.
The Congress leader, in an op-ed published in The Indian Express on Saturday, raised questions about the conduct of the Maharashtra elections, alleging manipulation of electoral rolls, inflated voter turnout, targeted bogus voting, rigged appointments in the Election Commission, and concealment of crucial evidence.
Despite the Congress, in alliance with the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, performing well in the Lok Sabha elections earlier that year, the coalition suffered a severe setback in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, winning only 46 out of 288 seats. The BJP, along with its allied factions of the NCP and Shiv Sena, secured a dominant 230 seats.
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi also warned that similar manipulation could take place in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections later this year.
ECI Re-releases April 2025 Document to Rebut Allegations by Rahul Gandhi
Responding to Gandhi’s allegations, the ECI reissued a detailed document from April 2025, previously shared with the Indian National Congress (INC), and reiterated that all due electoral processes were followed.
“In every polling booth, the voting progressed in front of the polling agents formally appointed by candidates/political parties,” the ECI said in an official statement. “Nominated candidates of the INC or their authorised agents have not raised any substantiated allegations with regard to any kind of abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny.”
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The Commission highlighted that despite the scale of the electorate — nearly 9.78 crore registered voters in Maharashtra — only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority (District Magistrate) and just one before the second appellate authority (Chief Electoral Officer). This, the ECI said, clearly indicates that there were no major grievances raised about voter roll additions before the elections.
‘Allegations an Affront to Rule of Law,’ Says ECI
The ECI further criticised the INC for making public accusations while ignoring the facts already communicated to the party in December 2024, a reply that remains publicly accessible on the Commission’s website.
“Booth Level Agents were also appointed by all political parties, including 27,099 by the INC. These unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law,” the statement said.
Defending the integrity of the Indian electoral process, the Commission stressed that the country’s elections are admired globally for their scale, transparency, and legal rigour.
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“Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards law but also brings disrepute to the thousands of party representatives and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work transparently,” the ECI noted.
In a pointed response to Gandhi’s allegations, the Commission added, “After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised is completely absurd.”
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:
Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission
Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll
Step 3: Inflate voter… pic.twitter.com/ntCwtPVXTu— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2025
As the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections draw near, the ECI’s rebuttal appears to be aimed at pre-emptively protecting the integrity of the electoral process from political narratives that question its credibility.
