New Delhi [India], June 7 : Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nishikant Dubey on Saturday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his accusation that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election was "rigged" in favour of the BJP. Dubey urged the Congress leader to read the 1975 judgement of the Allahabad High Court to know how his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi "fixed" and "stole" the 1971 Lok Sabha elections to win from the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
"Rahul Baba, how is the election fixed or stolen? Read the exploits of your grandmother, Indira Gandhi, which is the judgment of the Allahabad High Court," Dubey said in a post on X.
"The army and its helicopters were used in the 1971 elections. Liquor and clothes were openly distributed during the election of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 3. Ask for votes in the name of Hinduism. Voters were brought in vehicles. Money is distributed indiscriminately. Government employees engaged in an election campaign. You create the election drama, your family ruins the country, and you will not get the liberty to loot the elections anymore," he added.
In the judgement, the Allahabad High Court held that Indira Gandhi was guilty of electoral malpractices, and disqualified her from holding public office for 6 years.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year.
In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the "rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls.
"Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X.
The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll.
He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.
"Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said.
He further labelled rigging as "match-fixing", saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result.
"It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," the Rae Bareli MP said.
Gandhi warned that the "match-fixing" of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then "anywhere" the BJP was losing elections.
"Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," he added.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.