New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has recently found himself at odds with the party leadership, on Friday extended his support to senior party leader Rahul Gandhi’s explosive allegations of a “huge criminal fraud” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of India (EC) of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate the electoral outcome in favour of the ruling party.
Backed by what he described as “concrete evidence,” Gandhi claimed there was large-scale rigging in the general elections, and alleged that the electoral process had been “staged” to deliver a BJP victory. The accusations have sparked a political firestorm, with the BJP strongly denying the claims and accusing Gandhi of disrespecting the voters.
Shashi Tharoor took to X to weigh in on the controversy, stating, “These are serious questions which must be seriously addressed in the interests of all parties & all voters. Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering.”
These are serious questions which must be seriously addressed in the interests of all parties & all voters. Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering. @ECISVEEP must urgently act &… https://t.co/RvKd4mSkae
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 8, 2025
He urged the Election Commission to respond transparently and dispel any doubts over the integrity of the elections.
Tharoor’s remarks come at a time when his own relationship with the Congress high command has been under scrutiny. His recent praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and critical comments on the Emergency era had drawn criticism from within the party and provided ammunition to the BJP. His endorsement of Gandhi’s claims marks a notable shift in tone.
Rahul Gandhi, now the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, placed a specific focus on the Mahadevpura assembly segment in Karnataka, where he alleged a highly inflated lead of 1,14,046 votes for the BJP. He argued that this margin enabled the BJP to clinch the Bengaluru Central seat by 32,707 votes, despite Congress leading in most other assembly segments within the constituency.
Gandhi demanded the Election Commission release machine-readable voter data from the last 10-15 years as well as CCTV footage from polling stations, claiming that without these, the EC would be complicit in the alleged fraud.
“If the EC does not give us machine-readable data for the past 10-15 years and the CCTV footage, they are partaking in the crime,” he declared.
The BJP swiftly hit back, dismissing Gandhi’s claims as “bogus” and accusing him of insulting the electorate.
Labeling his remarks as stemming from “frustration and anger” over the Congress’s continued electoral setbacks, the party said voters would keep rejecting the Congress for what it described as “irresponsible and shameless” conduct.
As the political debate intensifies, all eyes are now on the Election Commission’s response to the serious allegations, which strike at the heart of India’s democratic process.
