IndiaPosted at: Sep 18 2026 10:23AM


Rahul Gandhi alleges BJP-ECI Nexus in party splits, says 'Party Theft' reflects democratic decline

New Delhi, Sep 18 (UNI) Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India of acting in concert to engineer splits in political parties and deprive them of their election symbols, calling it a pattern that threatens India's democratic system.
In a post on X, Gandhi cited the disputes involving the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress to allege a recurring method.
"First Shiv Sena, then NCP and now Trinamool Congress," Gandhi said. "Every time, the pattern is the same — the BJP and the Election Commission together split a party. Then its election symbol is taken away."
Linking the issue to his broader concerns over electoral integrity, he said, "When an entire party can be stolen, then it is not surprising that the votes of crores of Indians can also be stolen."
Gandhi described the developments as symptomatic of a larger decline, saying, "Vote theft.
Government theft. Now party theft — these have become symbols of our democratic decline."
Questioning the role of the poll panel, he said, "The constitutional responsibility of the ECI is to protect the mandate," and alleged that it was instead assisting forces seeking to overturn the people's decision.
The remarks came amid the Election Commission's proceedings concerning the Trinamool Congress's name and its "twin flowers" symbol following a dispute between rival factions.
The action has revived debate over party recognition and symbol allocation, an issue earlier seen in Maharashtra where rival factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP staked claim to party names and symbols and the Election Commission decided the matters under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.
Seeking to frame the controversy as larger than one party, Gandhi said, "This fight is not just
Mamata Banerjee ji's fight. It is the fight of every political party and every voter who wants free and fair elections."
The Congress has in recent months raised questions about electoral transparency and the functioning of the Election Commission, while the poll body has maintained that decisions on symbol disputes are taken as per established legal framework to settle competing claims over a recognised party's identity.
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