NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) formally wrote to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, asserting that all elections are conducted strictly in accordance with laws passed by Parliament and established rules.The poll body also highlighted that the entire electoral process involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by various political parties.In a letter emailed to the Congress leader on June 12, responding to his article published in a leading daily, the ECI explained that the election process is carried out in a decentralised manner at the assembly constituency level. It noted the involvement of more than 1,00,186 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.In addition, 1,08,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from national and state political parties, including 28,421 from the Congress, were deployed across Maharashtra.“We presume that any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law (high court) by the INC candidates,” the Commission wrote to the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, according to news agency PTI.“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,” the poll authority added.Despite the poll body’s clarification on the issue, Rahul Gandhi again on Tuesday flagged alleged irregularities in the Maharashtra assembly polls, claiming that there weren’t isolated glitches but “vote theft” and demanded the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls as well as CCTV footage.The Rae Bareli MP shared on X a media report which claimed that in just six months between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls, Nagpur South West — the seat held by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis — added 29,219 new voters.“In Maharashtra CM’s own constituency, the voter list grew by 8 per cent in just 5 months. Some booths saw a 20-50 per cent surge. BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes,” Gandhi said in his post.“Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address. And the EC? Silent — or complicit. These aren’t isolated glitches. This is vote theft. The cover-up is the confession,” he said.“That’s why we demand the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage,” Gandhi added.
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