Mumbai, June 8 (IANS) A fierce political row has erupted after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged “match-fixing” in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, prompting a sharp response from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who accused the Congress leader of misleading the public after his electoral defeat.

Fadnavis, in an article in a Marathi daily, rebuked Gandhi’s allegations, saying: “The one whom the public rejects, rejects the mandate.”

A day after pledging to respond to Gandhi’s “article with an article”, the Chief Minister stated, “If you cannot convince people, then confuse them — this is Rahul Gandhi’s policy.”

The Congress leader wrote an op-ed in a national daily in which he questioned the conduct of the Maharashtra elections and accused the Election Commission of dereliction of duty.

The Congress and its allies have accused the Election Commission of opaque functioning and raised questions about unexplained spikes in voter turnout.

Congress’s Maharashtra leader Nana Patole alleged that 46 lakh additional votes were added to the voter count and questioned the legitimacy of votes counted after 5 p.m.

“The Election Commission has denied access to CCTV footage and failed to provide clarity. They have participated in murdering the democratic process,” Patole said, adding that the party has moved the Supreme Court seeking redress.

State Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal, speaking to IANS, said: “Why is CM Fadnavis responding when the questions are for the Election Commission? Rahul Gandhi has raised facts that deserve judicial scrutiny.”

Voicing similar concerns, Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe challenged the official explanation, stating, “We questioned how 67 lakh votes were added post 5 p.m. The official reply said 16 lakh. If so many votes were cast after hours, who verified them and how?”

Londhe also questioned changes to the constitutional mechanism, pointing to the exclusion of the Chief Justice from the Election Commission selection panel, replaced instead by the Union Home Minister.

“This overshadows the voice of the Leader of Opposition,” he said.

NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule said Gandhi’s article stemmed from frustration at being ignored by the EC despite repeatedly raising concerns.

“After Rahul Gandhi wrote an article, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis also wrote a long piece in the newspaper. In an empowered democracy, everyone has the right to express their opinion. What Rahul Gandhi wrote was because he hasn’t received replies from the Election Commission for all the letters he has written so far,” Sule told reporters.

BJP MLA Ram Kadam defended the EC and the state government, stating that Fadnavis had presented detailed electoral data from 2009 to 2024 showing consistent increases in vote share and voter registration.

“Rahul Gandhi’s objections are based on incomplete knowledge. If he has proof, let him share it with the nation. But don’t mislead people every time you lose. That is immature,” Kadam said.

JD-U leader K.C. Tyagi also weighed in, urging Gandhi to formally approach the Election Commission.

“Instead of writing articles, he should meet the EC with his team and get his queries addressed,” he said.

In the elections held on November 20, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance — comprising Congress, the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena — won just 46 out of 288 seats. In contrast, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance swept 235 seats, with the BJP alone securing 132 — its highest-ever tally in the state.

–IANS

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