Congress Slams EC Over Maharashtra Vote Fraud Claims

Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of ignoring evidence of “vote chori” (vote theft) in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to undermine democracy. Speaking at the closing session of a two-day Congress workshop in Pune on August 12, 2025, Chennithala claimed the issue first surfaced after the November 2024 polls, where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory with 230 seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed only 46. He asserted that the Opposition provided data on suspected electoral malpractices across constituencies, but the ECI took no action, fueling suspicions of institutional bias.

Chennithala highlighted the stark contrast between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the MVA won 30 of 48 seats, and the Assembly polls five months later, where Mahayuti dominated with BJP securing 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41. “Vote chori turned the mandate in favor of Mahayuti,” he said, echoing claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who on August 7 alleged over one crore new voters were added in Maharashtra within five months—more than in the previous five years—and flagged a suspicious post-5:30 PM voter turnout spike not observed by Congress workers. Gandhi’s analysis, focusing on Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency, cited 1,00,250 fraudulent votes, including 11,965 duplicates and 40,009 fake addresses, as evidence of systemic manipulation.

The Congress has escalated its campaign, launching a web portal, votechori.in/ecdemand, on August 10, urging citizens to report vote theft and demand digital voter rolls for transparency. Chennithala announced nationwide protests and signature campaigns led by Rahul Gandhi, emphasizing that the fight is to protect democracy, not for political gain. He criticized the ECI for rejecting dialogue with the INDIA bloc’s full delegation on August 11, accusing it of intimidating Gandhi with notices after he exposed irregularities. “The ECI cannot silence Rahul by sending notices,” he said, referencing Gandhi’s refusal to sign a declaration demanded by the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, calling it an attempt to stall scrutiny.

Also Read: Tripura Congress Slams Centre, EC for Turning Elections into a Farce

The ECI dismissed Gandhi’s claims as “misleading,” citing the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and arguing that voter data is publicly available in PDF form, though not machine-readable due to privacy concerns. It clarified that Form 17C, detailing voter turnout, is shared with candidates’ agents at polling stations, making turnout manipulation impossible. However, Congress alleges the ECI’s refusal to provide digital voter lists and destruction of CCTV footage—rules for which were changed post-election—indicate deliberate opacity. Independent investigations by outlets like India Today and The Print verified irregularities, such as 80 voters registered at a single rented house in Mahadevapura, raising red flags.

Chennithala also attacked the BJP-led Central government, accusing it of failing to counter U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, contrasting it with Indira Gandhi’s decisive leadership in 1971. He labeled the Mahayuti government as Maharashtra’s “most corrupt,” citing unfulfilled promises like farm loan waivers and exclusion of women from the Ladki Bahin scheme. He pointed to controversies involving Mahayuti leaders, including MoS Yogesh Kadam’s alleged dance bar links and Minister Manikrao Kokate’s rummy-playing in the Assembly, as well as delays in local body elections, which he claimed favor BJP’s strategy.

As the Congress intensifies its protests, with INDIA bloc MPs staging demonstrations at Parliament, the controversy underscores a growing crisis of trust in India’s electoral process, with the ECI’s response under scrutiny.

Also Read: BJP Condems Rahul Gandhi’s Poll Fraud Allegations as Conspiracy Against Democracy