Following Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of poll rigging last week, the Congress launched a web portal inviting people to register complaints, demand accountability from the election panel over what they called “vote chori,” and support the call for digital voter roll
He further accused the BJP of poaching workers from other parties, saying, “This shows your leadership is not capable enough. File pic.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Monday accused the ruling BJP of "robbing the electoral process" through vote theft, claiming it was a deliberate attempt to "destroy democracy" in India, reported PTI.
Following Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of poll rigging last week, the Congress launched a web portal inviting people to register complaints, demand accountability from the election panel over what they called “vote chori,” and support the call for digital voter rolls.
Gandhi had presented data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, alleging that more than one lakh votes were “stolen” through five types of manipulation in an assembly segment in Karnataka. He also claimed that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls confirmed Congress’s suspicion that the elections were “stolen.”
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has since asked Gandhi to sign a declaration to back up his claims, reported PTI.
Speaking to reporters, Sapkal said, “The Maharashtra assembly elections last year exposed this theft. What is democracy? It is its people, the right to vote given to them, and the principle of one person, one vote. The BJP robbed the entire electoral process by committing vote chori. This is their ploy to destroy democracy. A do-or-die situation now prevails in the country, and all opposition parties and citizens should oppose this tooth and nail,” reported PTI.
He added that the ECI’s notice to Gandhi over his “vote chori” remarks was like “a thief reprimanding a cop.”
As reported by PTI, Sapkal made these remarks on the sidelines of a two-day workshop in Pune, aimed at orienting and training newly appointed Congress functionaries in the state, attended by senior party leaders.
The senior leader also dismissed rumours of Congress leaders switching to the BJP as mere “propaganda.”
He said, “The party's base is built by its workers and strong leadership. The BJP is like a witch that feeds on Congress workers. In their bid for a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat,’ they forget their party is filling up with former Congress members. If the chief minister looks at his cabinet, he will find more than half of the ministers are from the Congress.”
He further accused the BJP of poaching workers from other parties, saying, “This shows your leadership is not capable enough. The poaching also proves BJP's core leaders and workers have no future,” reported PTI.
Senior Congress leaders Babasaheb Thorat, Vijay Vadettiwar, Satej Patil, and Vishwajeet Kadam attended the orientation workshop, reported PTI.
Party officials said AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to address the workshop via video link.
(Inputs from PTI)
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