NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, alleging it failed to address Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s queries on voter fraud and enabled the Mahayuti alliance’s victory in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections through "vote chori." Speaking at a press conference in Akola, Awhad claimed the elections were "managed," with 76 lakh votes mysteriously added in the final hour of polling, securing the BJP-led coalition’s power.

"The Election Commission couldn’t answer Rahul Gandhi’s pointed questions on vote fraud. How can they, when they approve parties of defectors?" Awhad said, referring to the EC’s recognition of breakaway factions of Shiv Sena and NCP. He echoed Gandhi’s allegations from a July 31 press conference, where the Congress leader cited data showing over 1 lakh votes "stolen" in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls through manipulations like duplicate voters and fake addresses. Gandhi had claimed similar irregularities across states.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, responding on Sunday, demanded that Gandhi submit a sworn affidavit within seven days to substantiate his claims, or they would be deemed baseless. Awhad dismissed this as a deflection, accusing the EC of shielding the BJP’s electoral tactics. "The Mahayuti government came to power by stealing votes, and the EC’s silence proves its complicity," he charged, urging a thorough investigation into voter list discrepancies.

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Awhad also took a swipe at the BJP’s ideological allies, alleging that V D Savarkar, not Mahatma Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, supported the two-nation theory, challenging the ruling coalition’s historical narrative. On a separate note, he criticized civic bodies’ bans on meat sales during Independence Day, defending dietary freedom. "India’s food culture grants people the right to choose. Those who collaborated with the British wouldn’t understand," he remarked.

The controversy aligns with the INDIA bloc’s broader campaign, highlighted by Gandhi’s 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' launched in Bihar on the same day, to expose alleged electoral fraud. Awhad’s remarks intensify the opposition’s push for electoral transparency, with plans to escalate protests across Maharashtra to demand accountability from the Election Commission and safeguard democratic integrity.

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