Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshavardhan Sapkal on Friday said the entire credit for the Bihar Assembly election results goes to the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Alleging that the BJP and its allies won through vote theft, bogus voting, and the exclusion of opposition voters using SIR, Sapkal said, “If we survive, we will fight again.”
He was speaking to reporters after the charge-taking ceremony of Prof Yashpal Bhinge, the newly appointed President of the OBC Department of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, held at Tilak Bhavan. The event was also attended by senior leader and CWC member Balasaheb Thorat, All India Congress Committee OBC Department President Dr Anil Jaihind and others.
Sapkal said that none of the allegations being made by the ruling party after the Bihar results are true — they are baseless. The impact of giving Rs 10,000 to women right before the elections, despite ignoring the poor for five years, will also be discussed. But looking at how the Election Commission is working to bring the ruling party to power, this trend is extremely dangerous for democracy. The country now needs Election Commissioners like T. N. Seshan, he said.
Senior leader and CWC member Balasaheb Thorat said that there is a need to focus on the smaller castes within the OBC community and reach out to them. “Strengthen the organisation by uniting the smaller groups. The ideology of Congress and the Constitution is the same — it is the ideology of equality, and what our saints and great thinkers preached is enshrined in the Constitution. The country is going through a crisis, and only those who fight have their history written. Today, Rahul Gandhi is fighting to save the nation, democracy, and the Constitution, and everyone must stand firmly behind him,” Thorat said.
National OBC President Anil Jaihind said Maharashtra is the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, saints, great leaders, and the Warkari tradition. “Maharashtra has shown the country the path of social justice. Today Rahul Gandhi is fighting the battle for social justice. Ninety per cent of people in the country have the least share in power, while a handful control it. We must change this picture, and Rahul Gandhi is fighting precisely for that,” he said.
Dr Yashpal Bhinge said the BJP and RSS have suppressed the voice of the OBC community. “The same ‘Manuvadi’ mindset that opposed Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation is at work even today. Even now, the voice of OBCs is being suppressed in the BJP government. There is a need for an aggressive response against undemocratic tendencies, and the reply will be in the same measure,” he said, adding that he will work toward ensuring that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2029 is from the Congress Party.
