Shehzad Poonawalla takes aim at Rahul Gandhi: "...should not accuse others of 'match fixing'"

New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has claimed that Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent statement about Bihar indicates the party's upcoming defeat in the State's Assembly elections set to be held later this year.
"After the kind of comments made by Rahul Gandhi and his party on the Indian Army, it is certain that they are going to lose the Bihar elections," Poonawala told ANI on Sunday.
He accused Gandhi and his party of making excuses ahead of the elections, suggesting that they are trying to shift the blame for their upcoming loss, saying, "Now that they are going to lose the elections, it is necessary to make excuses beforehand."
Poonawala also targeted Gandhi's criticism of the Election Commission, saying that the Congress leader believes his "family system" is above the constitutional system. "The Election Commission has given factual answers to all their questions, not once but many times, but Rahul Gandhi feels that his family system is above the constitutional system, so when he loses the elections, he finds faults in the Election Commission...," Poonawala alleged.
He further accused Gandhi's family, saying, those "whose family's entire character is the killing of constitutional institutions should not accuse others of 'match fixing'."
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year.
In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the "rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls."Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X.
The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.
"Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission;
Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll;
Step 3: Inflate voter turnout;
Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win;
Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said.
He further labelled rigging as "match-fixing", saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. (ANI)