Rahul Gandhi can't garner public support: BJP counters 'match-fixing' barb

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of attacking democratic institutions to undermine people's trust in the electoral process, claiming he was doing so to pre-empt his party's defeat in the upcoming elections as he cannot garner public support.

This came after Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the ruling BJP, alleging that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election was a "blueprint for rigging democracy". He also claimed the "match-fixing" of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and anywhere the BJP is losing.

Hitting back, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress leader of resorting to attacking democratic institutions under a well-planned conspiracy, as he knows that his party is set to suffer defeat in the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

Gandhi is trying to undermine the trust of people in the electoral process because he is unable to gain public support in favour of his party, Bhandari charged, calling the Congress leader "anti-democracy".

"Rahul Gandhi knows he's losing Bihar and, like always, he's resorted to a well-planned conspiracy: attacking democratic institutions to pre-empt his defeat," the BJP spokesperson wrote on X, reacting to the Congress leader's charge.

"Unable to win the trust of the people, he is now trying to undermine the trust of the people in the electoral process itself," he alleged, adding, "Rahul Gandhi is anti-democracy.

Slamming Gandhi over his accusations, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya accused the Congress leader of deliberately making repeated attempts to sow seeds of doubt and dissension in the minds of the voters about the poll process.

"It is not that Rahul Gandhi doesn't understand how the electoral process works. He does very well. But his goal is not clarity; it is chaos. His repeated attempts to sow seeds of doubt and dissension in the minds of voters about our institutional processes are deliberate," Malviya wrote on X.

The BJP leader pointed out that when Congress wins an election, be it in Telangana or Karnataka, the same system is hailed as "fair and just".

"But when they lose -- from Haryana to Maharashtra -- the whining and conspiracy theories begin, without fail," he said, adding, "This is straight out of George Soros' playbook -- systematically erode people's faith in their own institutions, so they can be cracked open from within for political gains".

"India's democracy is strong. Its institutions are resilient. And the Indian voter is wise. No amount of manipulation will change that," Malviya asserted.

Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a "blueprint for rigging democracy".

Posting on X, his article titled 'Match-fixing in Maharashtra', published in the Indian Express, the Congress leader accused the ruling BJP of stealing the assembly elections held in the state last year "How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi wrote on X.

"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 damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result," he charged.

"All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers. Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing," Gandhi said.

Reacting to the Congress leader's charge, Bhandari said the voter increase between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Maharashtra was a regular administrative trend, not a conspiracy.

Gandhi is "peddling a lie" to question a normal democratic process, he alleged.

He termed Gandhi's claims "inconsistent and scripted", pointing out that the Congress leader on January 19 claimed one core fake voters were added, then he changed the figure to 70 lakh on February 3 and brought it down to 39 lakh on February 7.

"Not even 1 per cent of Congress candidates formally raised complaints using Form 17C -- the legal way to challenge EVM data. If the Congress party truly believed the results were rigged, why didn't its candidates approach the District Magistrate with Form 17C data?" Bhandari asked "Because this isn't about evidence, it's about narrative warfare," he said.