NAGPUR: After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of match fixing in Maharashtra state assembly election, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis slammed him saying Rahul Gandhi has insulted the voters of Maharashtra mainly Ladli sisters who voted for Mahayuti government.
Rahul Gandhi in his op-ed published in The Indian Express "How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy," alleged that the Election Commission of India did the match fixing so that the BJP can win the elections in Maharashtra. Reacting to it, CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Rahul Gandhi’s article shows that he and his party accepted the defeat in the Bihar state assembly elections.
“Unless and until Rahul Gandhi does not hit the road and work on ground, till then he will not understand the ground reality. By making such statements, he is running away from reality and giving false support by making false claims. If this continues, then the Congress party will never win the election. Mr Gandhi has to understand this reality,” Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Congress in-charge and Kerala congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala said when he assumed charge of Maharashtra in early 2024, the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi defied the Modi wave in the Lok Sabha elections. He said, the people of Maharashtra stood tall against propaganda and pressure, delivering a decisive verdict that sent the BJP alliance reeling.
“BJP’s loss in Maharashtra, along with its poor performance in Uttar Pradesh, was pivotal in preventing it from securing an absolute majority at the national level. And yet, merely six months later, in the Maharashtra state assembly elections, that same Maha Vikas Aghadi — which was poised to win over 170 seats — was reduced to just 50. Is it believable that this staggering turnaround was due to governance or public sentiment? Even the most loyal BJP supporter would hesitate to make such a claim. If Prime Minister Modi himself could not sway Maharashtra, are we to believe that Eknath Shinde, whose politics is marred by betrayal and unprincipled opportunism, could command such a wave,” Congress leader asked.
He further said this was not a coincidence. “It was a calculated and premeditated operation to distort the electoral mandate. Democracy in Maharashtra was not defeated — it was subverted. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra had 89.8 million registered voters. By the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this number rose naturally to 92.9 million — a five-year increase of 3.1 million. However, within just five months, during the 2024 Assembly elections, the voter count inexplicably jumped to 97 million — a sudden spike of 4.1 million in less than half a year. This figure defies logic. Even the official estimate of the adult population in Maharashtra stands at 95.4 million. On polling day, the initial turnout reported was 58.22%. With no reports of long queues or late-night voting, it should have remained roughly constant. Instead, by the next morning, the turnout had miraculously jumped to 66.05% — an overnight addition of over 7.6 million votes, predominantly favouring BJP candidates,” Chennithala added.
The Congress leader further went on to say that Rahul Gandhi exposed how Maharashtra, once a proud torchbearer of democratic values has become a cautionary tale of how institutions can be compromised, how power can be snatched instead of earned, and how silence can become complicity. This is no longer about one state or one election. It is about the soul of our democracy. We urge the Election Commission to break its silence. The people of Maharashtra — and of India — deserve answers.