Patna (Bihar) [India], June 7 (ANI): Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday took a dig at Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his recent tweet alleging poll rigging in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Paswan dismissed the claims, stating that the Congress is resorting to excuses in anticipation of defeat in the upcoming elections.

'Now they are looking for excuses because they are going to lose the next election. They know that they are going to lose the Bihar assembly elections... Till now, they were blaming EVMs... Now they have found a new excuse... After independence, you remained in power for 55 years, and today, if the public is rejecting you, then instead of finding excuses, it is time for introspection,' he said.

On Saturday, 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.(ANI)