22 June, 2025:
The Election Commission has declined to share CCTV footage from polling station webcasts, citing privacy and legal concerns, according to sources. This response follows Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s repeated claims that the BJP-led Mahayuti rigged last year’s Maharashtra elections.
On Saturday afternoon, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had questioned the "match fixing" of elections and specifically mentioned the rule of deleting videos of polling within 45 days.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi raised several questions for the Election Commission, accusing the poll body of destroying evidence instead of providing answers.
"Voter list? Will not provide machine-readable format; CCTV footage? It was hidden by changing the law; Photo-video of the election? Not in 1 year, we will destroy it in 45 days. The one from whom answers are needed is destroying the evidence. It is clear the match is fixed. And a fixed election is poison for democracy," the Congress MP wrote in Hindi.
"Sharing of the footage, which would enable easy identification of the electors by any group or an individual, would leave both the elector who has voted and the elector who has not voted vulnerable to pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements," Election Commission sources said.
Laying out the reasons, the sources added, "Sharing of the footage, which would enable easy identification of the electors by any group or an individual, would leave both the elector who has voted and those who haven't vulnerable to pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements. For instance, if a particular political party gets fewer number of votes in a particular booth, it would easily be able to identify, through the CCTV footage, which elector has voted and which elector has not, and thereafter, may harass or intimidate the electors."
The Election Commission also stated that releasing CCTV footage from polling booths would breach the legal provisions of the Representation of the People Act as well as the directives issued by the Supreme Court of India.
Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi alleged match-fixing in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. He raised concerns over the alleged inclusion of fake voters in the electoral rolls, inflated voter turnout figures, targeted bogus voting, manipulation in the selection of the Election Commission panel, and concealment of evidence.
He also voiced fears that similar irregularities could occur in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections later this year.
In response, the Election Commission criticised the Congress for levelling unsubstantiated allegations and disregarding established facts.
