Berlin, Dec 23: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again mounted a sharp attack on the BJP, reiterating allegations of ‘vote chori’ and claiming that India is witnessing a “full-scale assault on the institutional framework” of the country.

Addressing a gathering at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany, on the theme ‘Politics Is The Art Of Listening’, Gandhi said the Haryana Assembly elections in 2024 and the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 “were not fair”.

He alleged that the Congress party had formally raised concerns with the Election Commission of India, but did not receive any response.

“We fundamentally believe that there is a problem with the electoral machinery in India. The second thing is that there is a wholesale capture of our institutional framework,” Gandhi said.

He alleged that key institutions had been compromised, adding, “When you look at our intelligence agencies, you look at the CBI, you look at the ED, they’ve been weaponised.”

Pointing to what he described as selective action by central agencies, Gandhi said, “Look at the number of cases that the ED and the CBI have against the BJP people. You’ll find the answer is zero. And look at the number of cases they have against people who oppose them.”

According to Gandhi, this has created an atmosphere where institutions are no longer performing their mandated roles.

“From our perspective, the Congress perspective, we helped build the institutional framework. So we never viewed it as our own institutional framework. That’s not how the BJP sees it,” he said.

He alleged that the ruling party considers institutions as instruments of political power.

“The BJP views the institutional framework of India as belonging to them. And so they use it as a tool for building political power. Just look at the difference between how much money the BJP has and how much the opposition has. You’ll see a ratio of 30:1,” he said.

Gandhi said the Opposition must actively devise ways to respond to what he described as systemic challenges.

“It’s not good enough for us to say, ‘Oh, you know, there’s a problem in the elections.’ We will deal with it. And we will create a method, a system of opposition resistance that will succeed,” he added.

Responding to a question on the INDIA bloc, Gandhi said alliances are often viewed only through the prism of elections. He urged a broader understanding of the grouping.

“Look at it slightly differently. All the parties of the INDIA bloc do not agree with the basic ideology of the RSS. That’s the point. And you can ask any of them. None of them will tell you that actually we believe in the ideological position of the RSS,” he said.

He acknowledged that differences exist among alliance partners but stressed that unity prevails when it matters.

“So we are very much united on that question. But we have tactical contests that take place, and we will continue to have them,” Gandhi said.

“But you will see that when it comes to the Opposition requiring unity, and you see it every day in Parliament, for example, we are very united. And we will contest the BJP on the laws we disagree with. It’s a deeper battle now than simply elections. Now we are fighting a battle for an alternate vision of India,” he added.

Citing recent electoral victories, Gandhi said, “We have won elections in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh. We have been raising issues as far as the fairness of elections in India is concerned.”

He claimed that the Congress party had presented evidence to back its claims.

“I have done press conferences in India where we have clearly shown without a shadow of a doubt that we won the Haryana election and that we don’t feel the Maharashtra elections were fair,” Gandhi said.

Reiterating his allegations against the Election Commission, Gandhi said, “There is a full-scale assault taking place on the institutional framework of our country. We asked direct questions to the Election Commission. A Brazilian woman was on the voting list 22 times in Haryana… We did not get a response.”

“We fundamentally believe that there is a problem with the electoral machinery in India,” he added.

Kolkata, Dec 23: Each Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will daily handle 150 cases of hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal from Saturday, as per the target set by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The daily target had been fixed keeping in mind the schedule of the second and third stages of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal so that the hearing session could be concluded within a reasonable period facilitating the process of the meeting the deadline for publishing the final voters’ list on February 14 next year, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal said.

“Initially, the Commission was thinking of setting the target for daily lists of hearings at 100. However, finally it has decided to fix that daily target at 150, so that enough reserve time is available for examinations of the decisions in those hearings before finally publishing the final voters’ list on February 14 next year,” the sources said.

Each table of hearing will have one ERO, one Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO), and one micro-observer specially appointed by the Commission to supervise the hearing sessions.

These micro-observers will either direct central government staff or staff of central public sector undertakings or public banks, all of whom will be from the Group B category. However, the Commission said that all these micro-observers will be recruited from these categories of employees who are currently posted in West Bengal.

The process of sending notices for hearings started on Monday. The booth-level officers (BLOs) will reach the doorsteps of the voters concerned and hand over two copies of the notices to them.

The voter will retain one copy, and return the other copy to the BLO after signing it. The hearing session will be in two phases. In the first phase, “unmapped voters”, not having links with the 2002 list either through “self mapping” or “progeny mapping” will be summoned for hearings.

In the second phase, cases with doubtful family tree data detected in “progeny mapping” will be summoned.

The draft voters’ list was published on December 16.

The final voters’ list will be published on February 14. Soon after that, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled next year.

Mumbai, Dec 23: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Tuesday attacked Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde over his claim that Maharashtra local body polls have finally settled the debate over the “real” Shiv Sena.

In a scathing editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, the Thackeray camp claimed, “The liars say, ‘Our Shiv Sena is real!’ But what is real and what is fake – the common people of the state recognise this. Those who dedicated their victory to Modi-Shah’s feet, the symbol ‘Shiv Sena’ does not suit those thieves. These same Modi-Shah stole the bow and arrow and handed it over to eight traitors in Maharashtra. The theft of Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and local body elections has taken the form of ‘yours, mine, theirs’. The picture ahead will be different – we have no doubt about this.”

According to the editorial, Eknath Shinde has claimed credit for the work shown by the real Shiv Sena people. This is a hollow credit. His party’s claim of solid work in Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and now local body elections is hollow. “Originally, the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the symbol bow and arrow were obtained through Amit Shah’s pressure. The merit of the bow and arrow is significant, and Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief, had established the ‘bow and arrow’ in every household. These ‘merits’ have been stolen and the real Shiv Sena is being talked about,” said the editorial.

It further stated that the dispute between Shiv Sena and the bow and arrow is still pending in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has given six months’ time for the Election Commission to make a decision. “Dates are not being set there, but after 40 MLAs crossed over to the other side and the decision was made according to law and constitution, Shiv Sena and bow and arrow are encouraging a decision on whose symbol it is!” the editorial said.

The Thackeray camp said that despite the electoral successes of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, legal disputes regarding the party’s “real” status and official symbols remain unresolved. It said, “The Supreme Court has scheduled a final hearing for January 21, 2026, to address the symbol dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions. A similar hearing for the NCP symbol dispute is set for January 22, 2026. The year ends with political parties shifting focus toward the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which are slated for January 15.” The editorial has even questioned the timing of the hearing in the court.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena alleged, “The results of local body elections are bought and sold through auction. There is no integrity or transparency found anywhere in these results. The ruling party has acquired the art of buying the machinery and voters, and people like Amit Shah kindly make them win elections by stealing the Shiv Sena and bow and arrow. As Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vows to transform the face of the state following these results, the opposition remains defiant. They describe the current political state as one of ‘looting and deception’ and express confidence that the political picture in Maharashtra will shift in the future,” said the editorial.