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The #Congress will organise torchlight processions on June 12 in #Maharashtra to draw people's attention to the "vote theft pattern" of the 2024 polls, which it fears could be replicated in the upcoming Bihar elections.

Pointing out that BJP leaders are responding to queries directed at the ECI, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Saturday wondered whether a similar "vote fraud pattern" is being planned for the upcoming Bihar elections.

"The credibility of the Election Commission is at stake and democracy is under threat. To awaken public awareness, the Congress party will organise torchlight processions across Maharashtra on June 12," Sapkal told a press conference.

His remarks come after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were a 'blueprint for rigging democracy'. He wrote in an article in the Indian Express that this poll 'match-fixing' would next happen in the Bihar elections and 'anywhere the BJP is losing'.

Sapkal alleged that no investigation was initiated despite Congress raising serious concerns over suspicious spikes in voter turnout.

"Rahul Gandhi has persistently demanded a probe both inside and outside Parliament, and his latest article published in a leading national daily has triggered a political earthquake, reigniting demands for an investigation into alleged election fixing," he said.

Sapkal said that Gandhi had raised the issue with concrete data, but in his one-and-a-half-hour speech in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not utter a single word. "This is a grave threat to India's democratic framework".

According to Sapkal, when a Congress delegation approached the ECI with detailed representations, the poll panel failed to clarify or disclose the necessary information.

"Instead, the rules were amended to withhold CCTV footage and video recordings, raising serious questions about transparency. If there is no wrongdoing, why hide the facts?" he asked.

Sapkal claimed that Maharashtra's voter count increased by 31 lakh over five years from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sapkal said the 8 per cent surge in voter turnout was unprecedented, especially when earlier elections showed only about a 1 per cent fluctuation.

"However, a sudden spike of 41 lakh new voters was seen in just five months between the 2024 Lok Sabha and the state assembly elections, which is highly suspicious," he added.

Sapkal said that in 2004, the initial polling percentage was 60 per cent, which finally dropped slightly to 59.5 per cent.

"In 2014, it was 62 per cent initially and ended at 63 per cent. In 2019, it went up from 60.46 per cent to 61.10 per cent. But in 2024, the preliminary figure was 58.22 per cent and the final turnout jumped to 66.5 per cent," he pointed out.

Sapkal said the 8 per cent surge in voter turnout was unprecedented, especially when earlier elections showed only about a 1 per cent fluctuation.

"With advanced technology in place, how could such an anomaly occur? The Election Commission owes the public an explanation," the Congress leader said.

He questioned why Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis responded to questions meant for the Election Commission.

"Why are they answering? This only deepens the suspicion that the same vote theft pattern used in Maharashtra is now being planned for the upcoming Bihar elections, polls to the Mumbai civic body and local body polls," Sapkal said.

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