June 9, 2025
NEW DELHI – In response to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of rigging in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday clarified that it has not received any formal complaint or meeting request from him even 24 hours after the claims were made.
Sources in the poll panel stated, “As per procedure, any Constitutional body, including the ECI, will formally respond only when Rahul Gandhi writes to them. It is very strange that even after 24 hours, he has neither submitted a written complaint nor requested a meeting.”
The controversy erupted following an article published by Rahul Gandhi in a national daily, in which he alleged “match-fixing” by the BJP in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. He accused the Election Commission of remaining silent on crucial issues and demanded greater transparency.
“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,” Gandhi wrote in a post on X. He demanded the publication of consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls and the release of all post-5 p.m. CCTV footage from polling booths in Maharashtra.
Gandhi alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, inflated voter turnout, and targeted bogus voting, which he said led to the Congress and its allies winning only 46 out of 288 Assembly seats. He also accused the ECI of evading questions and undermining transparency.
Responding to his claims, ECI sources said that CCTV footage from polling stations can only be reviewed by the competent High Court in the course of an election petition. This protocol, they said, is meant to protect both the integrity of elections and the privacy of voters. “Why does Rahul Gandhi or his agents want to invade the privacy of voters, which is safeguarded under electoral laws?” the sources asked. “Does Rahul Gandhi not trust even the High Courts now?”
The sources also noted that while Gandhi initially made statements through media and social media, following public backlash, the Indian National Congress (INC) began issuing statements on his behalf through official party channels and senior leaders.
The ECI hit back at the Congress for “sensationalism and misinformation,” stating that the party had failed to present its concerns formally despite being invited to meet the Commission. “Like all other national parties, when the INC was invited to meet the Commission on May 15, 2025, it developed cold feet and requested more time,” sources said.
They emphasized that Gandhi’s failure to lodge a formal complaint undermines the seriousness of his claims. “It is intriguing that Rahul Gandhi describes the issues as grave, yet he has not put them down in writing to the Commission.”
The ECI also pointed out that Gandhi’s allegations effectively question the integrity of his own party’s polling and counting agents, as well as lakhs of polling officials across the country. “By alleging irregularities in the electoral rolls, he indirectly blames his own Booth Level Agents and party-appointed polling and counting agents,” the sources said.
Reacting to Gandhi’s criticism of the electoral process, the ECI stated, “Over 10.5 lakh Booth Level Officers, 50 lakh Polling Officers, and 1 lakh Counting Supervisors appointed by the Commission nationwide are angered by these baseless allegations, which undermine their integrity and tireless work.”
On Saturday, the Commission officially described Gandhi’s claims of election rigging as “unsubstantiated allegations.” It added, “These claims are an affront to the rule of law. The ECI had already responded to the INC on 24th December 2024, and the reply is publicly available on its website.”
“Spreading misinformation not only disrespects the law but also discredits the party’s own representatives and demotivates thousands of election staff who conduct elections in a transparent and impartial manner. Blaming the ECI after an unfavourable electoral outcome is completely absurd,” the statement concluded.