Indian Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi Accuses BJP of Rigging Maharashtra Elections, Warns Bihar Could Be Next

Indian Congress leader and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi has renewed serious allegations against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of orchestrating a systematic rigging of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. In a detailed op-ed titled "Match-Fixing Maharashtra," Gandhi outlined a five-step process he claims was used to manipulate the democratic process and warned that similar tactics could be employed in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

According to Gandhi, the alleged rigging began with "rigging the panel for appointing the Election Commission," followed by the addition of fake voters to electoral rolls and artificially inflating voter turnout. He further accused the BJP of targeting bogus votes precisely in constituencies where it needed to secure victories and then concealing the evidence of these malpractices.

“How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy,” Gandhi wrote, urging citizens to examine the evidence and demand answers. He cautioned that this "match-fixing" model threatens to spread to Bihar and other states where the BJP faces electoral challenges, calling such tactics "a poison for any democracy."

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won a decisive victory in Maharashtra, securing 235 of 288 seats, with the BJP itself achieving its best-ever tally of 132 seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, including Congress, managed only 50 seats.

BJP leaders, including party president J.P. Nadda and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, have strongly rejected Gandhi’s claims. Nadda accused Gandhi of fabricating conspiracies out of electoral frustration and attempting to undermine democratic institutions without evidence. Fadnavis dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, urging Gandhi to focus on ground realities instead.

In Maharashtra, the Congress party has revived calls for the return of paper ballots and announced statewide protests scheduled for June 12, demanding electoral reforms and transparency.

As Bihar prepares for elections later this year, Gandhi’s allegations have intensified political debate, with the opposition warning of potential manipulation and the ruling party dismissing these as desperate attempts to deflect from electoral defeats.

This controversy underscores the heightened political tensions ahead of Bihar’s polls and raises critical questions about electoral integrity and institutional independence in India’s democracy.

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