As vote counting began for 29 municipal body elections in Maharashtra, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI).
He accused the poll panel of eroding democratic trust by allegedly enabling electoral malpractice, an allegation the Congress has repeatedly raised in recent months.
Taking to the social media platform X on Thursday morning, Gandhi claimed that the Election Commission was gaslighting citizens, arguing that public faith in democratic institutions had weakened. He described alleged vote theft as an anti-national act, escalating the rhetoric around the civic polls.
Gandhi’s remarks followed similar allegations made a day earlier by leaders from the opposition, including the Thackeray cousins, who questioned the reliability of the indelible ink used during voting.
Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy.
Vote Chori is an anti-national act. pic.twitter.com/3FZKkDPwDg
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 16, 2026
Opposition leaders alleged that officials in several polling booths used pens or markers to mark voters instead of official ink. They said the marks could be wiped off with sanitiser, potentially allowing repeat voting.
The controversy gained momentum after videos circulated on social media purportedly showing voter marks fading easily.
Local Congress leaders echoed these concerns, calling for accountability and transparency from election authorities.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded swiftly, dismissing the allegations as an attempt to pre-empt electoral defeat.
Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala labelled the opposition the bahana brigade, accusing Rahul Gandhi of discrediting institutions to mask political setbacks.
“Accepting defeat before counting ends ? Rahul Back to doing what he does best Discredit , distort & disinform,” Poonawala said, adding that no verified instances of fraud had been reported during polling.
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 ?? pic.twitter.com/ReIHFnxntG
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) January 16, 2026
Another BJP spokesperson, Pradeep Bhandari, alleged that the Congress was fabricating narratives to evade scrutiny. He asserted that such claims had failed to stand up in courts or public opinion in the past.
The Anti National Party who gets backing from Pakistan, is searching for a scapegoat looking at imminent defeat in BMC Elections.
Every season the “Parivarvadi” to escape scrutiny come up with one or other allegation which turns out damp squid in Court of law & court of public… https://t.co/hRXNB2VSkZ
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) January 16, 2026
Under mounting pressure, the State Election Commission announced a detailed enquiry into the ink-related allegations.
The Commission maintained that it followed standard procedures and used the same ink across BMC elections. It said it would investigate whether the viral claims were genuine or misleading.
The probe’s findings are likely to influence the political discourse around the Maharashtra civic polls.
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