Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and the Election Commission of acting in tandem during the Rajya Sabha elections
June 11, 2026: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a fresh attack on the BJP and the Election Commission, alleging that the Rajya Sabha election process had been manipulated through what he described as a BJP-EC “jugalbandi.” In a post on X, Gandhi claimed the electoral contest had effectively ended before voting began and termed the development “Seat Chori.” He alleged that Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected despite her submitting all required documents and having no pending cases against her.
Questioning the Election Commission’s handling of nominations, Gandhi compared Natarajan’s case with that of BJP-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani. He alleged that while Natarajan was disqualified without being given a proper hearing, Nathwani was granted additional time to correct errors and complete mandatory disclosures in his nomination papers. Gandhi argued that the differing treatment raised serious concerns about the fairness of the election process.
The Congress leader further claimed that the Election Commission initially avoided a meeting requested by the party and remained silent when discussions eventually took place. Escalating his criticism, Gandhi alleged that such incidents could become more common in future elections, asserting that the BJP finds it easier to “fix elections” than to win them. The controversy comes amid an ongoing political dispute over the rejection of Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination.