Rahul Gandhis vote theft costs baseless: Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde has dismissed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of irregularities within the voters’ checklist as “completely baseless” and challenged him to submit a proper affidavit to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Mr. Gandhi on Thursday (September 19, 2025) accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of defending those that “destroyed democracy” and cited information from a Karnataka meeting constituency to assert that votes of Congress supporters have been being systematically deleted forward of the 2023 elections.

The ECI, nonetheless, had dubbed the allegations “incorrect and baseless” and stated, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Mr. Gandhi.”

His claims have triggered a disagreement between the ruling and Opposition events, with the latter demanding Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ resignation.

Talking to reporters right here late on Thursday (September 18) night time, Deputy CM Shinde asserted that the election course of in Maharashtra, in addition to in Karnataka, Telangana, and Punjab, had been solely clear.

The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition’s (LoP) allegations of voter manipulation have been unfounded, he stated, stating that Congress had received within the Aland constituency in Karnataka beneath the identical election system that Mr. Gandhi now questioned.

“How can one accuse of vote theft in a constituency where the Congress party itself has emerged victorious?” Mr. Shinde requested.

“If Rahul Gandhi has doubts about the election process, he should submit an affidavit to the Election Commission and follow proper legal procedures. Only then should he make such grave allegations,” he stated.

Mr. Gandhi has cited particulars of alleged makes an attempt to delete 6,018 votes in Karnataka’s Aland constituency within the run-up to the 2023 meeting polls. He additionally gave the instance of Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, the place he claimed 6,850 voters have been added in a “fraudulent” method utilizing automated software program.

Mr. Shinde known as the accusations “completely baseless”, saying the method to take away a voter’s identify from the checklist was rigorous and couldn’t be finished rapidly or arbitrarily. He additional claimed that the Congress MP’s criticisms have been a part of a sample.

“Whenever he loses an election, Rahul Gandhi raises doubts about the integrity of the election process, questioning the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVM), voter lists, and even the Election Commission,” Shinde stated.

It was in the course of the Congress-led UPA authorities, beneath Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that EVMs have been first launched to conduct elections, he stated. “So, to claim that the system is flawed now, simply because the Congress has lost, is unfair,” he added.

Also Read | A quick historical past of EVMs in India | Explained

He stated that the individuals of Maharashtra have given their unprecedented help to the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena, recognising the work finished by the federal government and the welfare schemes applied within the final three years.

“To undermine this people’s mandate and make unsubstantiated allegations is an attempt to disrespect the public’s choice,” Mr. Shinde stated.

Taking a jibe at Mr. Gandhi, he stated the Congress chief had supposed to “drop a hydrogen bomb” throughout his press convention however had forgotten to take action.