Maharashtra Congress Chief Harshwardhan Vasantrao Sapkal Backs Rahul Gandhi’s Claims Of Election Rigging

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Vasantrao Sapkal came in defence of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi over the latter's remarks regarding the alleged "rigging" of the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections and said that he has only introduced facts about the Election Commission's data before the people.

"Rahul Gandhi has not written any article against the BJP. Rahul Gandhi's article is not against anyone. He has some facts about the data of the Election Commission, and through his article, he has kept the same data among the people," Sapkal told ANI.

He attacked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"Jo iske laabharti hai...chori karke jo sarkar bani hai, uske jo Mukhyemantri hai, vo election commission ka bachav kar rahe hai (The Chief Minister, who is the beneficiary of this government that has been formed by cheating, is defending the election commission," Sapkal alleged.

"Why are they defending the election commission? Are you the assigned lawyer of the Election Commission? The election commission must answer these questions," he added.

On Sunday, Fadnavis launched a scathing attack against Gandhi for allegations against the EC, accusing him of consistently misunderstanding the country's mood and misplacing blame.

Speaking to mediapersons in Hindi, Fadnavis said, "Ta-umr Rahul Gandhi aap yahi galti karte rahe, dhool chehre pe thi aur aap aina saaf karte rahe (Throughout your life, Rahul Gandhi, you have always made the same mistake; the dust was on your face, but you kept cleaning the mirror)."

The BJP has come down heavily on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, following his recent remarks on the elections, with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha saying, "A leader of the opposition who uses such language is not fit to hold that post."

He also criticised Gandhi for raising doubts regarding constitutional institutions.

Sinha reached Ayodhya for a two-day program on Sunday and said, "They carry the Constitution book in hand and yet raise doubts about constitutional institutions. This reflects their mindset. They do not truly believe in the Constitution or its institutions. An opposition leader who uses such language is not fit to hold that post."

This comes after Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged" and claimed the same could happen in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the "rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls.

"Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said.

The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission and adding fake voters to the electoral roll.

He further claimed that the following steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.

"Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said.

He further labelled rigging as "match-fixing", saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result.

"It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing. The side that cheats might win the game, but (it) will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," the Rae Bareli MP said.

Gandhi warned that the "match-fixing" of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then "anywhere" the BJP was losing elections. "Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," he added.

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