‘Will Rahul Gandhi resign and…’: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde slams Congress leader amid EVM row

Amid ongoing political slugfest over EVM tampering claims in Mumbai North West seat, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remark on X, and questioned if he will resign and re-contest from both the seats he won.

The remark comes amid Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar's allegations of foul play in Mumbai North West constituency where Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Waikar won by just 48 votes, and an FIR against Waikar's relative for using a mobile phone at a counting centre in Goregaon on June 4.

Also Read: Mumbai poll official denies claim of mobile phone OTP to ‘unlock EVM’ amid FIR against Shiv Sena MP Waikar’s kin

Speaking to ANI, Shinde said that wherever the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has won, there the EVM machine has functioned correctly, however, wherever they lost, they are (opposition) raising objections on the machine.

“What kind of antics is this,” asked Shinde.

"Rahul Gandhi has won from two places. The same EVM was kept there also, then he should say that the EVM machine was faulty everywhere and he should resign and contest the election again. Will this happen?," ANI quoted Shinde as saying.

Also Read: EVM Row: Mumbai poll officer rejects OTP theory, defamation notice to newspaper - 10 key points

In the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi won from both Wayanad and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats.

Earlier in the day, the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi quoted a post by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk where he said that we should eliminate electronic voting machines, and said, “EVMs in India are a 'black box', and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.”

Also Read: Elon Musk seeks ’elimination’ of EVM, says ’risk.. still too high’

"Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X and tagged the media report which claimed that a relative of Shiv Sena's candidate Ravindra Waikar, who won the polls from Mumbai's North-West seat by 48 votes, had a phone that unlocks an EVM.