Rahul Gandhi Alleges BJP-ECI Nexus in Party Splits, Calls ‘Party Theft’ a Sign of Democratic Decline

NEW DELHI, September 18: Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of acting together to engineer splits in political parties and deprive them of their election symbols.

In a post on X, Gandhi referred to disputes involving the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), alleging a recurring pattern in which rival factions emerge, followed by disputes over party names and symbols.

“First Shiv Sena, then NCP and now Trinamool Congress,” Gandhi said, alleging that the BJP and the ECI were involved in splitting parties and subsequently taking away their election symbols.

Linking the issue to his broader concerns over electoral integrity, Gandhi said that if an entire political party could be “stolen”, questions could also arise over the integrity of the votes of millions of Indians.

“Vote theft. Government theft. Now party theft — these have become symbols of our democratic decline,” he said.

Gandhi also questioned the role of the Election Commission, saying its constitutional responsibility was to protect the electoral mandate. He alleged that the poll panel was instead assisting forces seeking to overturn the people's decision.

His remarks came amid ECI proceedings concerning the Trinamool Congress's name and its “twin flowers” election symbol following a dispute involving rival factions. Similar disputes in Maharashtra involving rival factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP had earlier led the Election Commission to adjudicate competing claims over the parties' names and symbols under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.

Gandhi said the issue extended beyond the Trinamool Congress and described it as a matter concerning political parties and voters seeking free and fair elections.

The Congress has in recent months raised questions over electoral transparency and the functioning of the Election Commission. The poll panel, however, has maintained that disputes over party recognition and election symbols are decided under the applicable legal and regulatory framework.