‘Something Wrong…’: In US, Rahul Gandhi Questions Poll Commission, BJP Calls His Tour ‘Bharat Badnam Yatra’

SOURCE ; NEW18

Last Updated:April 21, 2025, 10:34 IST

Rahul Gandhi, speaking in Boston, alleged the Election Commission was “compromised” during the Maharashtra elections. The BJP hit back, accusing him of insulting India’s democracy.

Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in the United States on Sunday, has alleged the Election Commission of India was “compromised” during the assembly elections in Maharashtra.

He also claimed there was something “very wrong with the system” and that there were was an addition of 65 lakh voters to the voter list in two hours.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party called his visit to the US “Bharat Badnam Yatra‘ and also called him ‘anti-India’.

Gandhi’s remark came while he was speaking at a meeting in Boston.

“More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in the state, and this is a fact. The Election Commission gave us a figure in the evening around 5.30 pm, and in two hours, around 7.30 pm, 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible,” Gandhi claimed as he addressed the Indian diaspora.

“It’s very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, there is something very wrong with the system,” he claimed.

The Leader of Opposition also spoke about India’s relations with the United States, and said he hoped that the two countries would continue to work together.

“We have a partnership with the US, and hopefully we will continue to work together,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Expressing his gratitude, he thanked the people for carrying the ideologies and the flag of Congress to the United States.

“You believe, you listen to other people, and you respect them. This is what runs in the Congress party and in our family. Thank you for carrying the flag here, it’s a very powerful thing to do…” he said.

THE BJP REACTS

As soon as Gandhi’s claims went viral on social media, the BJP slammed him, saying that the former Congress chief has always made wrong claims and put India in a spot during his foreign visits.

“Rahul Gandhi always insults the Constitution of India while on his trips to other countries. From being anti-(Narendra) Modi, some people have now become anti-India, and spew venom against our country on international soil,” BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a self-recorded video.

“The entire world praises the Election Commission of India and the agency has even fact-checked leaders who spoke against it. Rahul Gandhi is creating a doubt against India by speaking such language in a foreign country,” he said.

“This is being done to save his face from the loss his party faced,” he alleged.

Speaking to reporters, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said, “Where they (Congress) are winning, there the EVM and Election Commission are good, but where they are losing, they are making allegations against the EVM and Election Commission.”

In a self-recorded video, BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan said, “Rahul Gandhi, who is on another ‘Bharat Badnam Yatra‘, ‘India Abuse Yatra’ on foreign soil has once again, deplorably attacked India’s constitutional institution and he has unsuccessfully once again tried to undermine India’s democracy in a foreign country.”

“Rahul Gandhi has attacked the ECI abroad… in America, he is peddling lies, falsehoods and trying to attack our ECI when the American President, Mr Donald Trump, has hailed and lauded India’s electoral system and India’s voter registration… This is how clueless LoP Rahul Gandhi is,” he said.

BJP Karnataka’s co-convenor Sunny Raj also shared Rahul Gandhi’s video on his X handle, and wrote, “Instead of introspection, he’s busy insulting India’s democracy on foreign soil.”

The Shiv Sena also reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s remark and said he always talks bad about the country.

“He always talks bad about our country. I don’t know whether he is really an Indian citizen or he is an Italian citizen. We just want to warn Rahul Gandhi that if he talks like this, if he talks about Veer Savarkar and if he tries to assassinate our country’s character, then we will make sure that Rahul Gandhi (isn’t) allowed to roam in India,” Sena leader Raju Waghmare said.