Is Rahul Gandhi and Congress Under Attack from BJP Due to Maha Poll Data?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Congress faced backlash after retracted voter data.
- BJP accused Congress of spreading lies.
- The integrity of the Election Commission is in question.
- Discrepancies in voting data could sway public opinion.
- Transparency is crucial for maintaining public trust.
New Delhi, Aug 19 (NationPress) In the midst of a contentious discussion surrounding alleged inconsistencies in Maharashtra's voters' list, the Congress party faced renewed criticism following the retraction of ‘unfounded findings' by a prominent survey organization, CSDS.
Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders, utilized this voters' list to intensify their accusations against the BJP and the Election Commission, claiming that both entities were colluding to commit vote fraud.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia countered the allegations at a press briefing, branding the Congress party as a purveyor of falsehoods.
He challenged both the psephologist Sanjay Kumar and Rahul Gandhi, asking who would be held accountable for the misleading portrayal of the polling data and the subsequent creation of a deceptive narrative.
Sanjay Kumar, the CSDS director, recently released numbers from the voters' list in Maharashtra, indicating significant discrepancies over a short period. He shared statistics from four constituencies, revealing two with steep declines and two with considerable increases.
The Congress party eagerly seized this information to assert claims of vote tampering orchestrated by the Election Commission under BJP's influence.
However, the psephologist later retracted the data, acknowledging it was erroneous and attributing the mistake to his team’s misinterpretation. This led to significant backlash on social media, further complicating the Congress party's position.
Bhatia escalated his critique, questioning, “Will Rahul Gandhi apologize to the election panel? Will he acknowledge his long-standing disrespect for the people's mandate?”
According to Kumar's claims on August 17, 2025, the Ramtek Assembly constituency saw a substantial vote decrease of approximately 38.45%, while Devlali recorded a 36.82% drop, attributed to numerous deaths.
BJP leaders also highlighted contrasting statistics previously cited by the Leader of Opposition, urging him to clarify his statements.
“On February 3, 2025, Rahul claimed an increase of 70 lakh votes in six months, but on July 9, 2025, he stated that 1 crore votes were added in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. What is his stance? Can he communicate clearly?” Bhatia pressed.
He referred to a dismissed petition where opposition parties alleged that 76 lakh bogus voters participated in Maharashtra voting after 5 PM, which was rejected due to lack of substantial evidence.
After his tweets went viral, Sanjay Kumar deleted them and issued a clarification about the data misinterpretation.
Earlier that day, Amit Malviya criticized Rahul and his team, alleging they sought to label genuine voters as fraudulent.