Strongly refuting the allegations made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi regarding irregularities in the Maharashtra electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday termed the charges “completely absurd.”

In an article published in a national daily, Gandhi alleged “match-fixing” by the BJP in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

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The article sparked a political controversy, with opposition parties claiming it exposes the alleged scale of electoral manipulation in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections and highlights the Election Commission’s “silence” on critical questions raised by the opposition alliance.

Responding to the allegations, an official source in the poll panel said, “The Maharashtra electoral roll revision process was undertaken under the full scrutiny of 1,03,727 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties, including 27,099 BLAs by the Indian National Congress (INC) itself.” The official added that there was no basis for the Congress leader to suggest that the electoral process had been compromised.

According to the Election Commission’s procedures for updating electoral rolls, any deletions or additions are made strictly under the framework of Article 324 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and the extant instructions issued by the Commission from time to time.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday urged the poll panel to respond to the questions raised in his article.

“Dear EC, you are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions. If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by:

• Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, including Maharashtra.
• Releasing all post-5 p.m. CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.

Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,” he posted on X.

Earlier, the ECI issued a statement asserting that the “unsubstantiated allegations” regarding the electoral rolls in Maharashtra were an affront to the rule of law. It said these concerns had already been addressed in its response to the INC on 24 December 2024, which is available on the ECI’s website. The Commission noted that these facts appeared to have been ignored while the issues were being repeatedly raised.

The ECI added that spreading misinformation is “a sign of disrespect towards the law” and that efforts to discredit the institution are “completely absurd.”

“Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards the law, but also brings disrepute to thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party, and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections. After any unfavourable verdict by voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by claiming it is compromised is completely absurd,” the ECI stated.

Sources in the Commission also questioned why no appeals were filed if the allegations had any merit.

After the finalisation of the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra elections, only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority (District Magistrate) out of a total of 9,77,90,752 electors. Only one appeal was submitted to the second appellate authority (Chief Electoral Officer), a source said.

On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November 2024 were “rigged” and warned that a similar pattern could be repeated in the upcoming Bihar elections.

Sharing his article on X, Gandhi wrote, “Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step.”

The former Congress president outlined a five-step process:

“Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission.

Step 2: Add fake voters to the rolls.

Step 3: Inflate voter turnout.

Step 4: Target bogus voting precisely where the BJP needs to win.

Step 5: Hide the evidence.”

He described the alleged manipulation as “match-fixing,” arguing that while the side that cheats may win the game, it ultimately harms democratic institutions and erodes public trust in the results.

 “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 will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence, judge for themselves, and demand answers,” the Rae Bareli MP added.

Gandhi warned that the “match-fixing” seen in Maharashtra could next be employed in Bihar and potentially in any state where the BJP faces electoral defeat.

“Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,” he said.