Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that instead of introspecting on the Congress party’s defeat in the 2024 state assembly polls, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is rejecting the mandate of the people who voted against him which is “insulting”

Fadnavis wrote in his articles published in the Indian Express and Marathi daily Loksatta that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is already preparing excuses for future defeats in upcoming assembly elections, including in Bihar.

The Congress leader, on Saturday, in an article published in several newspapers and posts on X, described the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections as a “blueprint for rigging democracy” and alleged that this “match-fixing” would next occur in Bihar.

In his post on X, Gandhi listed the alleged irregularities step by step — fake voters are added, voter turnout is inflated, bogus voting is facilitated, and evidence is subsequently hidden.

The Election Commission dismissed these allegations, saying “defaming the poll panel after an unfavourable verdict is absolutely absurd.” The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, secured a decisive victory in the 2024 Maharashtra elections, defeating the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).

“This will only push the Congress party further into a ditch. He needs to introspect on why his own party’s MLAs make statements challenging anyone to get an appointment with him within a day. He must be mindful of which direction he is taking the country and what poison he is spreading by constantly raising doubts about the democratic process and constitutional institutions,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis said that the defeat in Maharashtra has stung Gandhi and his allies. “But if you continue to insult the mandate of Maharashtra’s farmers, Ladki Bahin (beloved sisters), common people, and all its citizens in this manner, the people of Maharashtra will never forgive you,” he added.

The Election Commission dismissed these allegations, saying “defaming the poll panel after an unfavourable verdict is absolutely absurd.” The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, secured a decisive victory in the 2024 Maharashtra elections, defeating the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).

“This will only push the Congress party further into a ditch. He needs to introspect on why his own party’s MLAs make statements challenging anyone to get an appointment with him within a day. He must be mindful of which direction he is taking the country and what poison he is spreading by constantly raising doubts about the democratic process and constitutional institutions,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis said that the defeat in Maharashtra has stung Gandhi and his allies. “But if you continue to insult the mandate of Maharashtra’s farmers, Ladki Bahin (beloved sisters), common people, and all its citizens in this manner, the people of Maharashtra will never forgive you,” he added.

Fadnavis further said, “As far as the Maharashtra election is concerned, it was not fundamentally a contest between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. There was another factor: The Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. What was this ‘todo’ (break) campaign, established under the name of ‘jodo’ (unite), doing?”

He alleged that the campaign was fostering misconceptions among the public about the country’s constitutional institutions, thereby encouraging opposition against the nation itself—this included the judiciary and the Election Commission.

Fadnavis also highlighted the appointment process of the Chief Election Commissioner, stating, “From 1950 until a new law was enacted, the (previous) Congress governments directly appointed the Chief Election Commissioner.”