“Election Commission is compromised”: Rahul Gandhi at Boston event

New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has once again raised concerns over the credibility of India’s electoral process, this time on an international platform. 

Speaking at a public interaction during his visit to Boston, United States, Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission of India was “compromised” and cited discrepancies in the Maharashtra Assembly election data to support his claim.

“In simple terms, more people voted in the Maharashtra assembly elections than there are adults in Maharashtra,” Gandhi told the audience. 

Recalling the events of polling day, he said, “The Election Commission gave us a figure of voter turnout at 5:30 in the evening, and between 5:30 and 7:30, when the poll is supposed to close, 65 lakh more votes were added. Now that is physically impossible to happen, because for a voter to vote, it takes approximately three minutes. If you do the math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till two o'clock at night, voting all night. And this didn’t happen.”

He went on to claim that when the Congress party sought video footage of the voting process, their request was denied. 

“They not only refused to give us the videography, they changed the rules so now you're not allowed to ask,” he said. “It's very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised. It's very clear that there is something very wrong with the system.”

Gandhi added that the Congress party had flagged these concerns multiple times in India through press conferences and official communication, but no substantive response was received.

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This is not the first time Gandhi has questioned the neutrality of democratic institutions. Over the past year, he and other opposition leaders have repeatedly alleged that the Election Commission, enforcement agencies, and sections of the judiciary are operating under pressure from the central government, an accusation the BJP has consistently rejected.