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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of fraud by the Election Commission (EC) in voter lists, likening them to a script penned by iconic Bollywood duo Salim-Javed.
"It seems like Rahul Gandhi got a script written by Salim-Javed. It's an entertaining script, and he's reading it out everywhere. He's not saying anything beyond that script. Not a single point he's making is factual; everything is imaginary. He says there's manipulation in the voter list," Fadnavis said. He mentioned that the demand for a comprehensive revision of the voter list, like the one being carried out in poll-bound Bihar, has been made before too. "Even we acknowledge this, and we are the ones who have been demanding a comprehensive revision. The Election Commission has said they are ready to do it. In fact, they have already started in Bihar. But then Rahul Gandhi says, 'Don't carry out the revision.' So, what exactly does he want?" he asked. Fadnavis accused the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition of looking for excuses to explain his party's defeat in the 2024 general elections, alleging that Gandhi "does not even understand what the revision is about." At a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were "choreographed" by the EC to benefit the BJP, which he said appeared "immune to anti-incumbency." The EC, in turn, has asked the Congress MP to sign the declaration by the Chief Electoral Officers of Maharashtra and Karnataka or apologise for his "absurd" allegations, according to sources. Citing internal analysis, Gandhi said the Congress expected to win 16 seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine. He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 1,00,250 votes. Presenting Congress's research on voting in the Mahadevapura constituency segment in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes. "Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine. We then focused on seven unexpected losses. We focused on Mahadevapur...All data is 2024 data from the Election Commission; the total votes polled in the Lok Sabha were 6.26 lakhs. The BJP won with 6,58,915, securing a margin of 32,707. But then we look at Mahadevapura, where Congress polls 1,15,586 and BJP polls 2,29,632. Congress wins all Vidhan Sabhas but this one," the Congress leader said. He said, "We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house". (ANI)
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