Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 7 (ANI): BJP MP Dinesh Sharma on Saturday hit out at Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks alleging 'rigging' in Maharashtra legislative assembly elections, calling his statement 'desperate.'

Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, the BJP MP said the Congress leader has made a good record of continuous defeats, and Congress is pouring ghee in an extinguished lamp.

'I will not comment on someone who has defeated himself. He has made a good record of continuous defeats. Congress party is pouring ghee in an extinguished lamp...This is a desperate statement that cannot see the country's progress,' Sharma told ANI.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged', and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year.

In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls.

'Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step,' Gandhi said on X.

The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll.

He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.

'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence,' Gandhi said.

He further labelled rigging as 'match-fixing', saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result.

'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,' the Rae Bareli MP said.

Gandhi warned that the 'match-fixing' of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then 'anywhere' the BJP was losing elections.

'Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,' he added.

The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.

The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, part of the Mahayuti alliance, also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has earlier cleared misconceptions on voter turnout amidst concerns raised by the Congress party after the Maharashtra Assembly elections. In its detailed response to the Congress party, the apex poll body explained the process behind the aggregation of voter turnout data during the election.

In a letter to the Congress Party, the ECI had explained how an increase in voter turnout from 5 pm to 11:45 pm is normal as part of the process of aggregation of voter turnout and how there can be fide but inconsequential differences in Votes polled and Votes Counted data.

The poll body categorically affirmed that it is impossible to change actual voter turnout, as statutory Form 17C giving details of voter turnout is available with authorised agents of candidates at the time of close of poll at the polling station itself.

On the allegation of arbitrary additions or deletions of voters, ECI had said that there were no arbitrary additions or deletions in Maharashtra. (ANI)