Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his allegations regarding irregularities in the state assembly polls and “vote theft,” asking him to first talk to his party MLAs before “shooting arrows blindly”. Fandavis even used a Hindi proverb to mock Gandhi’s claims, citing data of 25 constituencies to counter his voter list discrepancies charge.
“Jhooth bole kauwa kaate, kaale kauwe se dariyo’… Rahul Gandhi, I understand the sting of your humiliating defeat in Maharashtra is intensifying by the day. But how long will you keep shooting arrows blindly?” Fadnavis wrote on X.
The Mahasrashtra CM highlighted that over 25 constituencies in the state witnessed more than 8 per cent increase in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, adding that it were Congress or its allies that emerged victorious in many of these seats.
“In West Nagpur, next to my own South West seat, voter count rose by 7 per cent (27,065), and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre won. In North Nagpur, there was a 7 per cent rise (29,348 voters), and the Congress’ Nitin Raut secured victory,” he said.
“In Vadgaon Sheri (Pune), voter numbers jumped by 10 per cent (50,911), and Bapu Pathare from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won. In Malad West, the increase was 11 per cent (38,625), and your own party’s Aslam Shaikh was elected. In Mumbra, there was a 9 per cent increase (46,041), and Jitendra Awhad from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won,” he wrote in the post.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged irregularities in the Maharashtra assembly polls, claiming that there weren’t isolated glitches but “vote theft”.
He even shared a media report that said that Nagpur South West added 29,219 new voters in just six months between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls.
“In Maharashtra CM’s constituency, the voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months. Some booths saw a 20-50% surge. BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes,” Gandhi said in his post.
The post has since drawn sharp criticism from the ruling BJP. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde also reacted to the Congress leader’s charges, saying that he never raises questions when the results are in the party’s favour such as in the case of Telangana or Karnataka.
‘Never Raised Questions When Congress Won In Telangana Or Karnataka’
The Shiv Sena leader asked Rahul Gandhi to approach a court or the Election Commission instead of making allegations, which are wrong.
“Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating these allegations. I want to ask him: he is the leader of the opposition why didn’t he file a complaint with the Election Commission or go to court? He has accused the Election Commission — such allegations are unfortunate. They won in Karnataka and Telangana, but didn’t raise questions about the Election Commission at that time,” Shinde said.
“When the verdict favored them, the EVMs were fine, the Election Commission was fair, and the voter list was accurate. You got more seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, you were silent then,” he added.
VIDEO | Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde (@mieknathshinde) responds to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s post on X. He says,
“Today, Rahul Gandhi made some allegations about voters. The Election Commission and the Commissioner have either called him to address the issue or… pic.twitter.com/dHjnXN4jOt
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 24, 2025
Shinde then went on to say that the people of Maharashtra voted overwhelmingly for the Mahayuti because of the work done and schemes introduced by the party. “That’s why they (the opposition) can’t tolerate it. They keep lying repeatedly, and that’s why people are starting to believe them,” he said.
