Inviting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to discuss his allegations that the Maharashtra Assembly 2024 elections were rigged, the Election Commission on Tuesday termed the polls strictly as per electoral laws passed by the Parliament.
A letter was sent via an email on June 12 was also received at the Leader of Opposition’s (LoP) residence, an ANI report, citing sources, said.
The EC said in its letter that all elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the EC from time to time.
What the ECI’s letter said
ECI further mentioned that the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by National and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of INC, across the state of Maharashtra.
“All elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time. As you are aware, the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by national and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of the INC, across the state of Maharashtra. We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates,” the letter reads.
The letter also said that the ECI presumes that “any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates”.
Inviting Rahul Gandhi to discuss the issues related to his allegation on the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year, the EC’s letter added, “However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues.”
Rahul Gandhi vs the EC
Earlier this month, the LoP in Lok Sabha had demanded that the EC publish consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra, and release post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.
The Congress leader has accused the BJP of rigging the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections through a five-step process, including tampering with the EC and inflating voter turnout.
The EC had, in response to Rahul’s allegations, released a point-wise rebuttal, labelling them “absurd” and saying that Rahul had raised “unsubstantial allegations”.
On June 21, the ECI had rejected Rahul Gandhi’s request for poll footage, and said that such a move is violative of privacy and security concerns of voters.
ECI sources said that calls for public release of footage may be politically motivated, aiming to harass or profile voters, especially in booths where a party performs poorly.
(With inputs from agencies)