NEW DELHI: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday launched a fierce attack on the BJP-led central government, alleging that all constitutional institutions have been “hijacked” since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.“You all know that after 2014, since Narendra Modi became PM, all the constitutional institutions have been hijacked. BJP IT Cell knows the dates of elections before the ECI announces. We are keeping an eye on the matter. But the constitutional institutions should function honestly. If they are influenced, there wouldn’t be any justice,” said RJD’s Yadav, backing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations against the Election Commission.Referring to the 2020 Bihar elections, Yadav added: “In the last 2020 elections, we had formed the government, the ECI did three PCs to justify, why the counting was stopped in evening? Why it resumed in the night? Those candidates who were announced as winners were later announced as losers…”The remarks come after leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused the EC of “match-fixing” the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections. He claimed the same blueprint could be used in Bihar and other states “anywhere the BJP is losing.”“Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions,” Gandhi said in a post on X.“If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra and by releasing all post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths,” he added. “Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will.”Congress MP from Rae Bareli earlier outlined in a newspaper article the alleged steps in rigging the Maharashtra polls: from rigging appointments to adding fake voters, inflating turnout, and hiding evidence. “Rigging is like match-fixing — the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result,” he said.In response, Election Commission sources strongly rejected Gandhi’s claims, calling them “unsubstantiated” and an “affront to the rule of law.” They added that such accusations demotivate lakhs of poll staff and discredit party-appointed poll representatives.With Bihar scheduled to go to polls later this year, Tejashwi Yadav is expected to lead the opposition alliance against the BJP and CM Nitish Kumar, who are electoral allies.Maharashtra politics veteran and Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut also responded to Rahul Gandhi’s article, saying, “I have read his article. The Election Commission should answer the questions he has raised, but the EC isn’t able to do that. So why is the BJP stepping in to respond? Rahul Gandhi, as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, is the one raising these concerns. There’s no point in Devendra Fadnavis writing any article, no one will pay attention to his opinion.”
