World
India
While speaking to a group of Indian-Americans in Boston, Congress leader and Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi didn’t hold back. He raised serious doubts about how elections are being run back home in India, saying that the Election Commission isn’t acting independently anymore.
In his words, “It is very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, and it is very clear that there is something wrong with the system.”
What Happened in Maharashtra? Rahul Explains
Rahul Gandhi pointed to the Maharashtra Assembly elections as an example of what he thinks went wrong. According to him, the voting numbers just don’t add up.
“I have said this multiple times… More people voted in the Maharashtra Assembly elections than there are adults in Maharashtra,” he said, raising eyebrows in the audience.
He broke it down even further. “The Election Commission gave us a voting figure for 5:30 PM and between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM, 65 lakh voters voted. This is physically impossible to happen. For a voter to vote, it takes approx 3 minutes, and if you do the Math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till 2 AM, but this did not happen.”
That’s a huge number of votes in a very short time, and Gandhi says there’s no way that kind of voting rush could’ve happened without people noticing massive lines.
No Footage, No Answers
Rahul also said that when his party asked for video recordings of the voting process—just to get clarity—the Election Commission not only turned them down but even changed the rules around it.
“When we asked them for the videography, they not only refused but they also changed the law so that now we are not allowed to ask for the videography,” he claimed.
To him, that’s another sign that the system is being shielded from public scrutiny instead of being transparent.
BJP Fires Back: Calls Rahul “Anti-Democracy”
Back in India, the BJP wasn’t happy with Rahul Gandhi’s comments. Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari hit back hard, calling Gandhi “anti-democracy” and “anti-India.”
The BJP often criticizes Rahul for speaking against Indian institutions while abroad, saying it sends the wrong message.
A Familiar Concern, New Audience
This isn’t the first time Rahul Gandhi has questioned the Election Commission or raised alarms about how elections are being handled. But saying it on U.S. soil, to a crowd of Indian-Americans, gives it a bigger international spotlight.
For some people listening to him in Boston, the comments may have felt personal. A lot of Indian-Americans still vote or closely follow Indian politics. So hearing these concerns from a national leader face-to-face probably hit differently.
