- By Shubham Bajpai
- Fri, 16 Jan 2026 03:50 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP, Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Election Commission, accusing it of "gaslighting citizens" after A row erupted over claims of marker pens used to ink voters' fingers during Maharashtra local body polls.
Taking to X, Gandhi said, "Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act."
The issue was raised on polling day when the opposition parties alleged that marker pens were used and the ink in it can be erased easily, raising concerns over the integrity of the election process in the civic polls. After the row escalated Maharashtra state Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare rejected the allegations and clarified that marker pens were in use from 2011 in local body elections. He also said that the ink in the marker pens is inedible.
Reacting on Rahul Gandhi's attack on the Election Commission, the BJP took a jibe calling Congress "Bahana Brigade" (Excuse brigade). Taking to X, BJP's spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Bahana brigade back! Accepting defeat before counting ends? Rahul Back to doing what he does best. Discredit , distort & disinform."
"Khandani chor now regurgitating claims of Thackerays. By the way what came out of allegations Rahul made on Bihar elections vote chori?". The BJP asked him if he has accepted the defeat as the counting of votes is still underway. The Congress has been trailing in almost all the big municipal corporations, including in BMC, PMC, Nashik, and Nagpur, among others.
The BJP has surged across the state as it has emerged as the single largest party in BMC, Nashik, Nagpur and Kalyan-Dombivali, among other municipal corporations. As part of the alliance, the BJP-led Mahayuti is heading towards a comfortable victory in 27 out of 29