- Rahul Gandhi accused BJP, EC of Rajya Sabha
- Congress’s Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected despite complete documents.
- BJP-backed candidate received extension despite errors; Congress alleges bias.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Election Commission, alleging bias in the handling of nominations during the recent Rajya Sabha elections and claiming that the electoral contest had been undermined even before voting could take place.
‘BJP-EC Jugalbandi Has Finished The Contest’
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and the Election Commission of working in tandem and alleged that the latest developments amounted to “Seat Chori”.
After Vote Chori and Sarkar Chori – the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with Seat Chori.
Look at what happened in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 11, 2026
“After Vote Chori and Sarkar Chori – the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with Seat Chori.”
Referring to the recent Rajya Sabha elections, Gandhi questioned the rejection of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination.
Questions Over Meenakshi Natarajan’s RS Rejection
According to Gandhi, Natarajan had submitted all the required documents and had no pending cases against her. He alleged that her nomination was cancelled after what he described as a frivolous objection raised by the BJP.
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“Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC cancelled her nomination on a frivolous BJP objection.”
Comparison With BJP-Backed Candidate
The Congress leader also cited the case of Parimal Nathwani, describing him as a BJP-backed Independent candidate.
Gandhi alleged that Nathwani had made errors in his nomination papers and had not provided several mandatory disclosures, but was allowed additional time to rectify the issues.
“Parimal Nathwani ji, the BJP-backed independent, got his own name wrong on the form and skipped multiple mandatory disclosures. The EC gave him an extension to fix everything.”
Questioning the Election Commission’s approach, Gandhi said, “Same Election Commission. Two candidates. One was disqualified without even a hearing. The other was rewarded despite not following the rules.”
Congress Claims EC Avoided Questions
Rahul Gandhi further alleged that the Election Commission initially avoided a meeting sought by the Congress over the issue and remained silent when the meeting eventually took place.
“When the Congress sought a meeting, the EC first tried to evade us. When we finally met, they did not say one word.”
‘Expect To See Much More Of This’
Escalating his criticism of the ruling party, Gandhi claimed such incidents could become more frequent in future elections.
“Expect to see much more of this – because for the BJP, it is far easier to fix the election than to win it.”
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