Fadnavis Slams Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Match-Fixing’ Remark, Says ‘Rejected Leaders Reject Mandate’

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 8th June: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “match-fixing” allegations related to the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, asserting that “those rejected by the people are now rejecting the public mandate.”

In a sharp rebuttal published in a Marathi daily on Sunday, Fadnavis accused Gandhi of attempting to confuse the electorate after facing defeat. “If you cannot convince people, then confuse them. This is Rahul Gandhi’s only political strategy,” said the BJP leader. He also accused the Congress of repeatedly questioning the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after electoral setbacks.

“Whenever the opposition loses, they blame the EVMs. But when they win, the EVMs are acceptable? The Supreme Court has dismissed all petitions related to EVM tampering,” Fadnavis said, branding the Congress leader as someone “who cannot accept failure.”

The response came a day after Rahul Gandhi, in an op-ed for The Indian Express, raised suspicions over the Maharashtra Assembly poll results, calling them “glaringly strange” and alleging “industrial-scale rigging.” In a detailed five-step explanation, Gandhi claimed the BJP manipulated the electoral process — from stacking the Election Commission panel to inflating voter turnout and hiding evidence of bogus voting.

“Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,” Gandhi wrote, describing the results of the 2024 Maharashtra elections as a blow to institutional integrity and public trust.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — the Congress, Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena — managed to secure just 46 out of 288 seats. In contrast, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition swept the polls, winning 235 seats, with the BJP alone securing 132 — its best performance in the state’s history.

Refuting Gandhi’s claims, the Election Commission reiterated a previously issued clarification and dismissed the allegations as “completely absurd.”

Fadnavis concluded, “Respect the mandate. The public is watching everyone. Excuses will no longer work — accountability will be fixed.”