The Indian National Congress which was mauled by the BJP-led alliance in the election held to the Maharashtra assembly said on Sunday that the poll results were rigged and do not reflect the real feeling of the electorate.

“This is shocking and mysterious as we had scored a fantastic victory under my leadership in the Lok Sabha election held in June 2024. The results of the assembly election in Maharashtra is shocking and dubious. We  have doubts about the authenticity of the electronic voting machines used in Maharashtra,” said Ramesh Chennithala, veteran Congress leader who was in charge of the Maharashtra assembly polls.

Speaking to reporters at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, Chennithala said that he was entrusted the responsibility of Maharashtra election by the High Command because it was confident that he could lead the party to impressive win, similar to the Lok Sabha win.

“A thorough probe should be held about the poll results in Maharashtra. The changes in the poll prospectus over the last four months is shocking, unbelievable and against the will of the people,” said Chennithala.

When asked about the results of the Jharkhand assembly election which saw the INDI Alliance led by the Congress romping home and retaining power, Chennithala was evasive. “May be the EVMs in Jharkhand performed well while those in Maharashtra were faulty,” said the aging leader from Kerala who is a strong contender for the chief minister’s chair after the 2026 assembly polls in the State.

Chennithala said he was equally shocked over the poll results of Haryana which was won by the BJP. “The communalist BJP had no chance of winning the Haryana election and we were confident of returning to power in the State. But Haryana result too was against the will of the people,” said Chennithala.

He also said that the Congress would take up  the issue in the national level itself and investigate the factors behind the volte face in the will of the electorate. The Maharashtra poll result has come as a shocker to Chennithala because he fears that the outcome may dampen his chances as a strong contender for the top job in Kerala.