Rigging of polls claim: Congress to launch 'voter awareness' processions in Maharashtra

A file image of flagsof the Indian National Congress | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress will organise torchlight processions on June 12 in Maharashtra to draw people's attention to the "vote theft pattern" of the 2024 polls, which it claimed indicates the credibility of the Election Commission is at stake.

Alleging that BJP leaders are responding to queries directed at the EC, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Saturday (June 7, 2025) wondered whether a similar "vote fraud pattern" is being planned for the upcoming Bihar elections.

"The credibility of the Election Commission is at stake, and democracy is under threat. To awaken public awareness, the Congress party will organise torchlight processions across Maharashtra on June 12," Mr. Sapkal told a press conference.

His remarks come after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy". He alleged in an article in the Indian Express that this poll "match-fixing" would next happen in the Bihar elections and "anywhere the BJP is losing".

Mr. Sapkal alleged that no investigation was initiated despite Congress raising serious concerns over suspicious spikes in voter turnout.

"Rahul Gandhi has persistently demanded a probe both inside and outside Parliament, and his latest article published in a leading national daily has triggered a political earthquake, reigniting demands for an investigation into alleged election fixing," he said.

Sapkal claimed Gandhi had raised the issue with concrete data, but in his one-and-a-half-hour speech in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not utter a single word. "This is a grave threat to India's democratic framework".

According to Mr. Sapkal, when a Congress delegation approached the Election Commission with detailed representations, the poll watchdog failed to clarify or disclose the necessary information.

"Instead, the rules were amended to withhold CCTV footage and video recordings, raising serious questions about transparency. If there is no wrongdoing, why hide the facts?" he asked.

Mr. Sapkal claimed that Maharashtra's voter count increased by 31 lakh over five years from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"However, a sudden spike of 41 lakh new voters was seen in just five months between the 2024 Lok Sabha and the state Assembly elections, which is highly suspicious," he added.

Mr. Sapkal claimed in 2004, the initial polling percentage was 60%, which finally dropped slightly to 59.5%.

"In 2014, it was 62 per cent initially and ended at 63 per cent. In 2019, it went up from 60.46% to 61.10% . But in 2024, the preliminary figure was 58.22% and the final turnout jumped to 66.5%," he claimed.

Sapkal said the 8% surge in voter turnout was unprecedented, especially when earlier elections showed only about a 1% fluctuation.

"With advanced technology in place, how could such an anomaly occur? The Election Commission owes the public an explanation," the Congress leader said.

He questioned why Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis responded to questions meant for the Election Commission.

"Why are they answering? This only deepens the suspicion that the same vote theft pattern used in Maharashtra is now being planned for the upcoming Bihar elections, polls to the Mumbai civic body and local body polls," Sapkal said.

Responding to an article by Mr. Gandhi, Election Commission sources on Saturday rejected claims of rigging in the Maharashtra polls held last year and said defaming it after receiving an unfavourable verdict from the voters is absolutely absurd.

BJP president J.P. Nadda has accused the Congress leader of "cooking up bizarre conspiracies" in his desperation after losing a series of elections.

Maharashtra BJP president and state minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) received 2.50 crore votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (and won 30 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra), while the Mahayuti got 2.48 crore votes (and won 17 constituencies).

In the assembly polls, the Mahayuti bagged 3.17 crore votes (winning 235 out of 288 seats), while the MVA had to be content with 2.17 crore votes (bagging only 50 seats).

Published - June 07, 2025 06:59 pm IST