Rahul Gandhi dismissing mandate of people as they rejected him, says Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi instead of introspecting on the defeat in the 2024 state assembly polls has been repudiating the mandate given by the people because they rejected him reported news agency PTIThe leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly elections including Bihar Fadnavis said in his articles published in the leading daily newspapersOn Saturday Gandhi in an article published in several newspapers and in posts on X claimed the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were a blueprint for rigging democracy and alleged this matchfixing would next happen in BiharIn a post on X Gandhi outlined the alleged electoral irregularities in a stepwise manner fake voters are added voter turnout is inflated bogus voting is facilitated and evidence is subsequently hiddenThe Election Commission rejected the charge saying defaming the poll panel after an unfavourable verdict is absolutely absurdIn response to Gandhis claims Fadnavis in his article said the Congress leader has been constantly insulting the democratic process and the peoples mandate reported PTIThe people have rejected Rahul Gandhi and in retaliation he is rejecting the people and their mandate the BJP leader charged reported PTI It would be more prudent to accept defeat for once and introspect on where you are going wrong where your connection with the people is lacking and what you should do about it he said reported PTIThe Congress leader is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly polls including Bihar he chargedThe Mahayuti comprising the BJP Shiv Sena and NCP won the 2024 Maharashtra polls with a thumping majority defeating the Maha Vikas Aghadi which includes the Congress Shiv Sena UBT and NCP SPFadnavis said As far as the Maharashtra election is concerned it was not fundamentally a contest between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi There was another factor The Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan What was this todo break campaign established under the name of jodo unite doing reported PTIIt was creating misconceptions among the public against all of the countrys constitutional institutions thereby inciting them to fight against the nation itself This includes the judiciary and the Election Commission he claimedFrom 1950 until a new law was enacted the previous Congress governments directly appointed the Chief Election Commissioner Fadnavis saidOut of 26 commissioners to date 25 were directly appointed by the central government For the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi established a committee that includes the leader of the opposition or the leader of the largest political party in the opposition he notedReferring to Gandhis objection to an increase in the number of electors in the 2024 Maharashtra polls whom he called bogus voters Fadnavis said the number of young voters is constantly increasingBetween 2014 and 2019 63 lakh new voters were added from 2009 to 2014 75 lakh new voters were added and from 2004 to 2009 1 crore new voters were added This means that nothing extraordinary happened in 2024 he said reported PTIIn 2004 5 per cent more in the assembly elections than in the Lok Sabha polls In 2009 4 per cent more in 2014 3 per cent more in 2019 1 per cent more and in 2024 4 per cent more So again nothing new happened in 2024 the CM said reported PTIThe claim that the voting percentage suddenly increased is a huge joke Is Rahul Gandhi unaware that 5 pm to 6 pm is also a polling hour and everyone present in the queue at the booth by 6 pm is allowed to cast their vote he asked reported PTIIn the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the voter turnout figure given at 5 pm was 6096 per cent which was finalised at 6671 per cent the next day The increase was 575 per cent But are you going to hide that fact because you won that election Fadnavis said reported PTIPreviously the final voting figures would come late at night now the 5 pm figure is released and the final figure comes the next day he saidThe claim that the NDA won where the voter percentage increased at the last moment is even more laughable Fadnavis saidRahul Gandhi gave the example of Kamthi assembly seat in Maharashtra But I will provide examples which he did not In Madha there was an 18 per cent increase where the Sharad Pawar groups candidate won In Wani a 13 per cent increase when the Uddhav Thackeray groups candidate won In Shrirampur a 12 per cent increase where the Congress won he said reported PTIFadnavis said Rahul Gandhi has been constantly insulting the democratic process and the peoples mandateThe people have rejected Rahul Gandhi and in retaliation he is rejecting the people and their mandate he saidThis will only push the Congress party further into a ditch He needs to introspect on why his own partys MLAs make statements challenging anyone to get an appointment with him within a day He must be mindful of which direction he is taking the country and what poison he is spreading by constantly raising doubts about the democratic process and constitutional institutions the CM said reported PTIFadnavis said the defeat in Maharashtra has hurt Gandhi and his alliesBut if you continue to insult the mandate of Maharashtras farmers Ladki Bahin beloved sisters common people and all its citizens in this manner the people of Maharashtra will never forgive you he addedWith inputs from PTI