Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has stirred a political storm by alleging that India’s Election Commission is “compromised,” citing suspicious voter turnout figures from the Maharashtra assembly elections. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Boston, Gandhi claimed that an abrupt surge of 65 lakh voters was recorded within just two hours, something he called “physically impossible.”

“More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in Maharashtra, and this is a fact… The Election Commission gave us a figure in the evening around 5:30 p.m., and in two hours around 7:30 p.m., 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible,” Gandhi said, as quoted by ANI.

He added, “It’s very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised. There is something very wrong with the system.”

The remarks have triggered a new debate around the credibility of the electoral process, particularly the data handling and reporting by the Election Commission during polls.

In response to such doubts, the Election Commission has consistently maintained that the Special Summary Revision (SSR) process ensures transparency and fairness in the electoral rolls. The SSR, conducted ahead of elections, involves adding newly eligible voters and removing duplicates or deceased entries from the rolls.

According to the EC, just 89 appeals were made in Maharashtra after the SSR process concluded in January 2025, despite the presence of over 13.85 crore Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across the country — agents deployed by political parties to scrutinize the draft rolls and report discrepancies.

With such an exceptionally low number of appeals, the EC has stated that the final electoral rolls are effectively undisputed. “There is no option but to accept the Electoral Rolls published after the completion of SSR in January 2025 as undisputed by all,” the Commission asserted.