'Election Commission is compromised': Rahul Gandhi rakes up voter fraud claims during US visit

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, while addressing members of the Indian diaspora in Boston, alleged that Election Commission is "compromised" and claimed there is "something very wrong with the system."

Citing the example of the Maharashtra assembly elections, former Congress president said, "More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in Maharashtra, and this is a fact... the Election Commission gave us a figure in the evening around 5:30pm, and in two hours around 7:30pm, 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible."
"It's very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, there is something very wrong with the system." he added.
This is not the first time Gandhi threw allegation on EC. Gandhi, along with many other opposition leaders had questioned the credibility of poll body repeatedly.
Earlier, the sources in the Election Commission had told ANI news agency that the allegations of manipulated electoral rolls were unfounded. They mentioned that during the recent Special Summary Revision (SSR) published in January 2025, there were very few appeals or corrections sought under Sections 22 to 24 of the Representation of People Act.
The SSR is a routine process to update electoral rolls, ensuring the inclusion of new voters and removal of duplicates or deceased individuals. According to officials, only 89 appeals were filed in Maharashtra, despite the presence of over 13.8 million Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across the country. With such low contestation, sources said the final electoral rolls must be considered undisputed.
During his speech, Rahul Gandhi also spoke about India-US relations, expressing optimism about continued cooperation between the two nations.
"We have a partnership with the US, and hopefully we will continue to work together," he said.
He also thanked members of the diaspora for supporting the Congress party abroad. "You believe, you listen to other people, and you respect them. This is what runs in the Congress party and in our family.... Thank you for carrying the flag here, it's a very powerful thing to do..." he said.
LoP Gandhi is scheduled to deliver an address at Brown University on Monday as part of his US visit.