Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged electoral theft in Madhya Pradesh, a month after he accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating a "match-fixing" in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections.
In a fiery-charged virtual address at the Congress's Nav Sankalp Shivir in Madhya Pradesh's Mandu, Mr Gandhi also questioned the credibility of the Maharashtra elections and claimed that over one crore new voters mysteriously appeared in the voter rolls.
"Let me say this without a shadow of doubt, Maharashtra's election was stolen. The Election Commission is helping the BJP in full capacity," he charged, alleging institutional bias at the highest levels.
Drawing a parallel to his party's experience in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Gandhi added, "I believe the last Madhya Pradesh election was stolen too, not once, but repeatedly. Just like Maharashtra. We must stay vigilant."
In the 2023 assembly elections, the BJP bagged 163 of the 230 seats to retain power in the central state. The Congress could manage 66 assembly segments.
The BJP also swept the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh by winning all 29 seats in the state.
Mr Gandhi also alleged a systemic suppression of the backward and marginalised communities.
"The Congress must fight for 95% of India's population, Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, minorities, and the poor from the general category. We must become their voice," he said.
He also emphasised unity and mutual respect within the party, urging cadres to learn from the experience of senior leaders and to carry the Congress's message of caste census to every household.
Reiterating the party's stand on caste-based census, he declared, "If Congress forms the government in Madhya Pradesh, we will immediately carry out a caste census. We will ensure proportional representation for Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, and women in government jobs."
He also questioned the BJP's resistance to caste-based data. "Why is the BJP afraid of data? Why does the RSS oppose the caste census? Because within that data lies the truth, the truth of exploitation of Dalits, backwards classes, and even the poor among the general category."
He cited the Telangana caste survey as a model and pledged to implement similar surveys in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh when the Congress forms a government.
"I've said this in Parliament, we will break down the 50% reservation wall. The RSS and BJP are scared now. They once boasted of getting 400 seats to change the Constitution. But it was Congress, through Bharat Jodo Yatra and Nyay Yatra, that forced them to talk about caste census," he said.
