Rahul Gandhi Attacks India Election Body Credibility in US

Rahul Gandhi Attacks India Election Body Credibility in US

Rahul Gandhi Claims Indian Election Commission ‘Compromised’ During US Visit, BJP Hits Back

RMN News Story

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has ignited a political firestorm by alleging that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is “compromised” during an address to the Indian diaspora in Boston, USA. Mr Gandhi cited irregularities in the Maharashtra assembly elections, claiming a “statistically impossible surge in voter turnout” within the final two hours of polling.

Speaking on Sunday (April 20), Mr Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated, “More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in Maharashtra, and this is a fact… the Election Commission gave us a figure in the evening around 5:30pm, and in two hours around 7:30pm, 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible”.

He further elaborated, “For a voter to vote, it takes approx 3 minutes, and if you do the Math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till 2 AM, but this did not happen,” and that when they requested videography, it was refused and the law was allegedly changed to prevent such requests. Mr Gandhi concluded, “It’s very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, there is something very wrong with the system”. He added that he has raised this issue multiple times.

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The Election Commission has refuted these claims. Sources within the ECI told ANI news agency that allegations of manipulated electoral rolls were “unfounded”. They pointed to the recent Special Summary Revision (SSR) published in January 2025, during which there were “very few appeals or corrections sought” under the Representation of People Act.

The SSR is a routine process for updating electoral rolls by including new voters and removing duplicates or deceased individuals. Officials stated that only 89 appeals were filed in Maharashtra despite having over 13.8 million Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across the country, suggesting that the final electoral rolls should be considered undisputed.

Mr Gandhi’s remarks drew immediate and strong condemnation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra dubbed him a “traitor” for his comments and accused him of “venting his frustration over ED action in the National Herald case on the poll body”.

Mr Patra asserted that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) would not spare him and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, in the National Herald case, accusing them of “embezzled crores of rupees of the country” and alleging they would be “caught with the proceeds of crime and sent to jail”. The ED recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in this case, alleging money laundering of ₹988 crore.

Mr Patra also questioned the timing of Mr Gandhi’s allegations, asking why similar concerns weren’t raised when the Congress deemed the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, where the BJP won 240 seats and Congress 99, as their victory. He further dismissed Mr Gandhi as a “leader with no position” in his party or in the eyes of the public, suggesting he resorts to “false allegations” due to his political failures and should consider contesting elections from another country if he cannot do politics in India.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also attacked Mr Gandhi, stating it was “very unfortunate that whenever Rahul Gandhi is abroad, he does not miss sharing his hateful thoughts towards India and India’s democratic systems”.

Meanwhile, the Congress party defended their former chief’s statements. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera, speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, stated that the opposition party has expressed doubts about the ECI’s functioning and that the poll panel should address them.

He contended that a “10 to 13 percentage points rise in voting in the last hour of polling” is not “humanly possible”. Responding to the BJP’s reaction, Mr Khera questioned why the BJP was responding instead of the ECI and remarked that they had “learnt from Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to speak about domestic political issues on foreign soil”.

The controversy surrounding Mr Gandhi’s remarks on the Election Commission is likely to escalate, adding to the ongoing debate about the credibility of India’s electoral processes.