Rahul Gandhi has ignited a political firestorm by accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "match-fixing" in the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November 2024. These allegations, made recently, claim that the BJP employed systematic rigging to secure its victory. The BJP has vehemently denied these charges, dismissing them as disgraceful and reiterating the Election Commission's (ECI) commitment to a fair and autonomous electoral process.
Gandhi's accusations are centered around a five-step model that he believes the BJP used to subvert democracy in Maharashtra. These steps, outlined in an op-ed, include: rigging the panel for appointing the Election Commission, adding fake voters to the roll, inflating voter turnout, targeting bogus voting in areas where the BJP needed to win, and hiding the evidence. He argues that the scale of the alleged rigging in the 2024 elections is exceptionally glaring, pointing to official statistics as evidence, without relying on any non-official sources. He also questioned why someone would remove a neutral arbiter in an important institution.
The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), secure a decisive victory with 235 out of 288 seats. In contrast, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), was reduced to a mere 50 seats. For leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, who had lost control of their respective parties and symbols in the preceding months, the result was a significant setback.
Gandhi has warned that this alleged "match-fixing" could extend to other states, particularly Bihar, where elections are due later this year. He stated that "match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," urging concerned citizens to demand answers and evaluate the evidence.
The BJP has strongly refuted Gandhi's claims, branding them as "disgraceful antics of demonizing the country's institutions." Tuhin Sinha of the BJP stated that these issues have been repeatedly addressed by the ECI in absolute detail. The Election Commission has also maintained its autonomy and adherence to constitutional laws, rejecting allegations of irregularities in voter turnout or voter list management. The ECI had earlier responded to allegations of a rigged election concerned with voter turnout data and clarified misconceptions regarding the deletion of certain voters from the list. They also pointed out that Congress's own polling agents were present at every booth during the elections and did not raise any credible complaints about irregular voting.
These allegations have sparked intense debate and raised questions about the integrity of the electoral process. Opposition parties, including Mallikarjun Kharge, have consistently alleged poll rigging in Maharashtra and even called for a return to the ballot paper system, terming electronic voting machines (EVMs) as "fraud."
