At a public interaction with the Indian diaspora in Boston, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused the Election Commission of India of being “compromised” and questioned the integrity of the electoral process.
Highlighting the 2024 Maharashtra elections, Gandhi claimed that 65 lakh votes were added to the voter list within just two hours — a figure he described as “physically impossible.”
“More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in Maharashtra, and this is a fact,” Gandhi asserted. “The Election Commission gave us a figure around 5:30 p.m., and by 7:30 p.m., 65 lakh more votes had been cast. It’s very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised.”
Responding to such claims, Election Commission sources dismissed the allegations as baseless. According to the Commission, during the recent Special Summary Revision (SSR) published in January 2025, only 89 appeals were recorded in Maharashtra regarding the voter rolls — a number too low to suggest widespread discrepancies. The SSR process, which reviews electoral rolls and adds or removes eligible voters, is a standard procedure held before elections to ensure transparency.
Election Commission officials emphasized that no substantial corrections or appeals were made under key provisions of the Representation of the People Act during the revision period, reinforcing their stance that the rolls remain legitimate and undisputed.
Apart from raising electoral concerns, Gandhi also touched upon India’s foreign relations, particularly with the United States. “We have a partnership with the US, and hopefully we will continue to work together,” he said, extending gratitude to Indian Americans for upholding the Congress party’s values abroad.
“You believe, you listen to other people, and you respect them. This is what runs in the Congress party and in our family,” he said, thanking the diaspora for their continued support.
As part of his U.S. visit, Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to speak at Brown University on Monday.