The Election Commission has formally responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all elections are held strictly as per laws and candidates have presumably already moved court with issues about poll conduct.

The poll panel said if the Congress leader still had any issues, he was welcome to write to the authority and the EC was also willing to meet him in person to discuss all issues.

The entire poll exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties, the poll authority has also emphasised.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha had alleged "match-fixing" in the Maharashtra polls in an article published in a leading daily.

In response to the article, the EC sent an email to Gandhi on June 12, stating that the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the assembly constituency level.

It involved more than 1,00,186 booth-level officers, 288 electoral registration officers, 139 general observers, 41 police observers, 71 expenditure observers and 288 returning officers appointed by the panel, it said.

Moreover, 1,08,026 booth-level agents are appointed by national and state political parties, including 28,421 of the Congress, across Maharashtra.

"We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law (Bombay High Court) by the INC (Congress) candidates," the EC told Gandhi.

An election petition can be filed in the high court of a state within 45 days of the declaration of results of any particular constituency.

"However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues," the poll authority added.

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