Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday responded sharply to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote theft” remarks against the Election Commission. Addressing reporters at an event held in Goregaon, Mumbai, Fadnavis dismissed the allegations as baseless and said, “I have already said that it is not a matter of 'vote chori'. Rahul Gandhi's mind has been stolen. And when the mind is stolen, then people say such things...” He accused the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha of spreading misinformation, comparing his statements to Nazi minister Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda. Fadnavis argued that Gandhi’s claims lacked credibility and were politically motivated.
Continuing his attack, Fadnavis mocked Gandhi’s earlier “hydrogen bomb” remark, saying it ended up being empty rhetoric. “Rahul Gandhi had announced a hydrogen bomb. The entire country was in shock, wondering what kind of bomb Rahul Gandhi was going to drop, but it turned out to be a dud,” Fadnavis said. He accused Gandhi of lying without providing evidence, remarking that his method mirrored Joseph Goebbels’ strategy of repeating falsehoods until believed. “But Rahul Gandhi, this technique will not work in this country,” the Maharashtra CM asserted, warning that such politics damages public trust.
The Chief Minister further said that Gandhi’s comments insult constitutional institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission, and the Constitution itself. “By lying every day like this, he insults the Constitution of India, the judiciary, and the Election Commission. In a way, he is insulting the entire constitutional framework. He thinks that by lying like this, he will win Bihar, but Bihar will stand with PM Modi,” Fadnavis declared. His remarks came hours after Gandhi reiterated his allegations of large-scale voter list manipulation in Karnataka’s Aland constituency.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi had addressed a press conference claiming irregularities in Karnataka’s Aland seat. “In Aland, Karnataka, 6,018 votes, somebody tried to delete these votes. We don’t know the total number of votes deleted in 2023 elections, but somebody got caught. It was caught, by most crimes, by coincidence. What happened was that the Booth Level officer noticed that her uncle’s vote has been deleted,” he alleged. Gandhi insisted that this incident pointed to a larger conspiracy of electoral fraud.
The Congress MP went further, directly targeting the Chief Election Commissioner. Gandhi claimed, “I have 10 per cent proof that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is protecting vote chors (vote thieves).” He alleged that Kumar was fully aware of the manipulation of voter lists through deletions and fake additions. According to Gandhi, the Election Commission had ignored the seriousness of the issue, and its silence proved complicity. His accusations marked one of the strongest attacks on the poll body in recent months, raising political temperatures nationwide.
Responding swiftly, the Election Commission of India rejected Gandhi’s claims, calling them “baseless and incorrect.” Officials clarified that voter deletions cannot be carried out online by the public. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka also issued a statement, explaining that in December 2022, 6,018 online Form 7 applications for deletions in Aland were flagged for verification. Upon detailed checks by EROs and BLOs, only 24 applications were deemed genuine, while 5,994 were rejected. The CEO added that an FIR had already been filed in the matter in 2023.
Despite this, Gandhi maintained that the probe into the case had been deliberately delayed. He alleged that the Election Commission had ignored repeated reminders from the state CID, suggesting this was further evidence of wrongdoing. According to him, the lack of transparency and accountability demonstrated the poll body’s intent to shield those behind the attempted deletions. The Opposition leader’s statements are expected to intensify the ongoing political tussle between the Congress and the BJP, particularly ahead of upcoming elections, where the integrity of voter lists remains a key issue.