The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday has strongly refuted allegations made by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who accused the poll body of being complicit in alleged "vote chori" for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The EC also affirmed its support for polling personnel across the country, urging them to stay focused on their duties and not be swayed by what it called “irresponsible and politically motivated” remarks.
"The Election Commission ignores such baseless allegations being made on a daily basis, and despite the daily threats being given, asks all election officials to ignore such irresponsible statements and work in a fair and transparent manner," the EC said in response to the comments made by Gandhi.
Continuing his campaign against the Election Commission over the Bihar Special Intensive Revision, Rahul on Friday had claimed to have "open and shut" evidence of alleged poll irregularities by the poll authority and said that it would have no place to hide.
Rahul said his party had suspicions of poll irregularities in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls in 2023, then in the Lok Sabha polls and then the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also objected to Rahul's claims and accused him of making "anti-India" remarks.
"Rahul Gandhi is not a child. He is the Leader of the Opposition. Giving anti-national statements and disrupting Parliament is unacceptable,” the Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
Replying to reporters' query on the Congress leader's remarks, BJP leader Sambit Patra said, "Will Rahul Gandhi explode like a bomb? What do you think? Their job is to explode. They have no other work to do." He said the Opposition party speaks of such things because they have no faith in democracy.
"Think what kind of language this is: I (Gandhi) will explode on the Election Commission!" Patra told reporters at the BJP headquarters.
"You say 'I will go to Supreme Court against the Election Commission' or 'I will protest against it in a democratic manner', but 'exploding like a bomb'? The language (of Gandhi) itself is undemocratic and indignified," Patra said.
The BJP leader said the language Gandhi used shows that "these people want to explode like bombs".
"We are those who have faith in democracy. If they explode an atom bomb, we will save the Constitution," Patra added.
This is not the first time the Leader of the Opposition has raised concerns about the functioning of the EC. In June, 2025 the Congress leader alleged large-scale rigging in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, EC sources had clarified that the constitutional body would only officially respond if Rahul, in his capacity as the Leader of Opposition, submitted a formal written communication.
Rahul had alleged “match-fixing” in the Maharashtra elections and suggested that similar manipulations could occur in future polls, particularly “wherever the BJP is losing”. He also demanded CCTV footage from polling stations in Maharashtra during the final hours of voting, claiming discrepancies in the process.
In response to this demand, EC sources pointed out that as per existing rules, CCTV footage of polling stations is available for scrutiny -- if required -- by the relevant high court in the event of an election petition. The Commission reiterated that all mechanisms for redressal are legally and institutionally defined, and any such concerns should follow due legal channels.
