Rahul Gandhi Challenges ECI To Publish Voter Rolls, Post-5pm CCTV Footage Of Maharashtra Polls

Last Updated:June 07, 2025, 19:30 IST

Rahul Gandhi ignited a political row after he claimed that a systematic method was used to influence the Maharashtra election outcome in favour of BJP.

The Gandhi scion also said that the hands of Congress workers are tied because their voices are not heard in the organisation while calling for reforms in the party. (PTI file)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Election Commission of India (ECI) over the claims and allegations of “electoral manipulation" in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, urging the poll body to respond to his allegations in a “proper manner".

The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said that “releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries" was not a done thing to respond to his “serious questions."

Gandhi also demanded the poll body to publish consolidated data for the recently held elections and all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.

“Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions. If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by– Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra and releasing all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths. Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will," Gandhi said in a post on X.

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came hours after the poll body dismissed the allegations raised by the Lok Sabha LoP that there was a large-scale electoral manipulation in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

What ECI Said?

The ECI hit back with a point wise rebuttal, stating that “facts are completely being ignored."

“Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI’s website. It appears that all these facts are being completely ignored while raising such issues again and again," the ECI said.

Adding to its rebuttal about how “facts were being completely ignored" repeatedly, the ECI further said that such actions not only show “a complete disregard for the law," but also undermine the integrity of thousands of party-appointed representatives and demoralise the lakhs of election officials who, it said, “work untiringly and transparently during elections."

“After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd," stated the poll body.

Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations

The Congress leader ignited a political row after he claimed that a systematic method was used to influence the election outcome in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a post on X, the grand-old party leader summarised the key points of an article he wrote for The Indian Express, where he described the so-called electoral manipulation.

In his article, Gandhi outlined a five-step process he claimed was used to tilt the Maharashtra election.

“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," the Leader of Opposition wrote in his post.

“It’s not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra," Gandhi wrote in his post. “But rigging is like match-fixing – the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result."

“All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," Gandhi added.

He also warned that what happened in Maharashtra could be repeated elsewhere. “The match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing," he said, calling match-fixed elections are a “poison" for any democracy.

Earlier at multiple occasions, Gandhi had raised concerns over the surge in new voters, particularly between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, highlighting that 39 lakh new voters were added in just five months after the Lok Sabha polls.

“We want to bring to the notice of the people of India some information that we have found regarding the Maharashtra elections. We have studied in detail the voter lists, the voting pattern and we have a team working on this for some time. There are many irregularities that we have found," Gandhi had said in February this year.

Maharashtra Elections 2024

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance had scored a massive and astonishing victory over Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The unprecedented electoral sweep is a record win as no alliance has ever crossed the magic mark of 200 seats in the Maharashtra polls.

The ruling Mahayuti had won 234 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra elections, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, winning 132 seats on its own.

News politics Rahul Gandhi Challenges ECI To Publish Voter Rolls, Post-5pm CCTV Footage Of Maharashtra Polls