Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday strongly rejected Rahul Gandhi’s repeated allegations of irregularities in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, asserting that the Congress leader has failed to respond to an official invitation for dialogue extended nearly two months ago.

In a letter dated June 12, 2025, the ECI had invited the Leader of the Opposition for a detailed interaction on issues he raised in a newspaper write-up. The Commission noted that similar concerns had already been raised by the Indian National Congress (INC) after the elections and were formally addressed in a detailed response issued on December 24, 2024, now publicly available on the ECI website.

Despite this, Gandhi on Saturday again criticised the Commission, accusing it of losing its independence and describing it as “dead.”

Responding to these claims, sources within the ECI dismissed them as “completely baseless,” warning that such statements undermine public trust in a constitutionally independent institution. “The Commission functions in a fully transparent and lawful manner, open to scrutiny,” a senior official said.
The ECI also reaffirmed the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), citing the results of a recent checking and verification (C&V) exercise conducted in Maharashtra after receiving applications from 10 contesting candidates.

The exercise, which involved 48 Ballot Units (BUs), 31 Control Units (CUs) and 31 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), found no discrepancies. All devices were confirmed to be in proper working order, with VVPAT slips matching EVM results precisely.

This firm rebuttal comes amid rising tensions between the Congress party and the Election Commission, with Gandhi persistently accusing the poll panel of bias and political pressure. The ECI’s stance is being seen as a clear assertion of its independence and institutional credibility.