Responding to Congress’s accusation, TRAI said it never received an application related to the SMS campaign. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the regulator emphasised that it does not approve individual message templates. Instead, the rejection cited by Congress came from STPL, a service provider, which declined the request.
“TRAI received no application for sending SMS to a political party’s Maharashtra cadre on how the 2024 Assembly election was ‘stolen’,” the authority posted. It tagged the rejection screenshot, clarifying, “As per the photo, it is clear that the service provider, STPL, rejected it.”
#FactCheck
No application was received by #TRAI for sending SMS to a political party’s Maharashtra cadre on how the 2024 Assembly election was ‘stolen’.
TRAI doesn’t approve individual SMS templates.
As per the photo, it is clear that it was rejected by the service provider, STPL pic.twitter.com/KNan82dczM— TRAI (@TRAI) September 8, 2025
Congress allegations of “Suppression”
The clarification came a day after Congress alleged that TRAI rejected its application to circulate a YouTube documentary link titled “How the MH 2024 election was stolen.” The party claimed the rejection was on the grounds that the content related to a protest.
Praveen Chakravarty, head of Congress’s data analytics department, described the rejection as part of a “wider conspiracy” to silence dissent. “How is there such perfect synchronisation between the home ministry, election commission, and telecom regulator to suppress? Does one need more telltale signs of guilt of Maharashtra election fraud than such coordinated moves?” he wrote on X.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore went further, calling the episode “ridiculous” and alleging that TRAI had “become the IT cell of BJP.” He questioned whether ministries and regulators were working in tandem to censor the Opposition.
Opposition expands attack
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the BJP of “vote chori” (electoral theft), alleging manipulated voter rolls, irregular turnout data, and late voting surges. Echoing this line, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar played a decisive role in enabling BJP’s victories, pointing specifically to the recognition of the Eknath Shinde faction as the “real” Shiv Sena, which was awarded the party symbol.
Raut claimed the decision encouraged defections and tilted the 2024 Maharashtra polls in BJP’s favour. “The 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections were won by BJP and their allies with significant help from this gentleman (Rajiv Kumar),” he alleged.
EC rejects claims
The Election Commission has firmly denied all such charges. Current CEC Gyanesh Kumar dismissed the Opposition’s allegations as “hearsay and political distraction.” He also highlighted that Congress had not filed any formal complaints or petitions for eight months after the polls, undermining its claims.
The EC has consistently rejected charges of “match-fixing” or manipulation of voter rolls, insisting that both the Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections were conducted transparently and fairly.
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