Election Commission Responds to Rahul Gandhi on Maharashtra Polls

New Delhi, June 24 (PTI) - The Election Commission has sent a formal response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his claims of electoral malpractice in the upcoming 2024 Maharashtra elections. The Commission reiterated that it conducts elections in full compliance with laws set by Parliament and established procedures.

highlighting its rigorous process, the Election Commission detailed that the vast electoral exercise involves thousands of personnel, such as booth-level agents assigned by various political parties. The letter, dispatched on June 12 in reply to an article penned by Gandhi in a major daily, explained that elections are managed in a decentralized fashion at the assembly constituency level.

This involves over 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 Commission. Moreover, there are 1,08,026 Booth Level Agents, including 28,421 from Congress, appointed by National and State Political Parties across Maharashtra.

Addressing Gandhi, the Commission noted, "We presume that any issues related to the conduct of elections would have already been addressed through election petitions filed in the appropriate courts by the INC candidates (high court)." The Commission invited Gandhi to submit any further concerns in writing or meet with them personally at a mutually convenient time to discuss all matters.