NEW DELHI: Election Commission officials on Saturday slammed LoP Rahul Gandhi for accusing the poll panel of “fixing” Maharashtra polls, saying that the “absurd” allegations – dismissed in a letter to Congress dated Dec 24, 2024 – not only “demotivate” lakhs of govt staff who work untiringly to deliver transparent elections but also “bring into disrepute” party’s own representatives from the polling station to constituency level.“Any misinformation being spread is a sign of disrespect towards the law. After an unfavourable verdict, trying to defame EC by saying it is compromised, is completely absurd,” an EC functionary told TOI.Also read: ‘Maharashtra polls were match-fixed, Bihar next,’ alleges Rahul GandhiEC found it strange that the LOP, instead of directly writing to it, has chosen to air his grievances at other forums – party meetings, Lok Sabha, even interactions on foreign soil and, now, an Op-Ed article. “If he is aggrieved, why is he shying from writing to EC or seeking a meeting,” asked the functionary.On Rahul faulting the appointment process of CEC/EC, officials underlined that it was only under Modi govt that the law was amended to allow LoP a say in the appointments. “All CECs/ECs under previous Cong govts were appointed at the sole will of the Executive,” said an officer.EC officials reiterated that 58 lakh votes were polled per hour on average in Maharashtra election, between 7 am and 6 pm. “Going by these average trends, nearly 116 lakh voters, far more than 65 lakh who actually voted in the last two hours, could have voted,” said a functionary.As regards the anomalies alleged in roll revision, the functionary underlined that over 27,000 booth level agents (BLAs) appointed by Congress were involved at every step of the summary revision in Maharashtra. While electors increased by 8.1% in Maharashtra since the last assembly poll, the corresponding rise was 13.4% for Jharkhand and 16.2% for Telangana. Congress won both Jharkhand and Telangana pollsEven after the final roll was published, only 89 appeals were filed before the district magistrate and just one before chief electoral officer, the final appellate authority. Also, the Congress’s candidates/agents did not raise any substantiated allegations of abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny held the day after polling.
