New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, escalated his accusations of “vote theft” by the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI), presenting his findings to leaders of the INDIA bloc and a separate press conference.
Gandhi, who had earlier sparked a row with his allegations, doubled down on his claims, calling the alleged manipulation “a huge criminal fraud” and urging the judiciary to intervene.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The allegations were a key focus of the INDIA bloc dinner meet, which was attended by over 50 leaders from 25 parties. Using a PowerPoint presentation, Gandhi detailed what he claimed were significant irregularities in the voter rolls of the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka’s Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat.
According to Gandhi, an investigation by the Congress party revealed that 1,00,250 votes were “stolen” in Mahadevapura. He alleged that this manipulation contributed to the BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha election for the Bangalore Central seat, where the Congress won all other assembly segments.
Five Methods of “Vote Theft” Alleged
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Gandhi outlined five primary methods through which the alleged fraud was committed: He claimed to have found 11,965 duplicate votes, with one person, Gurkirat Singh Dang, allegedly registered in four different polling booths.
Another voter, Aditya Srivastava, was said to be on voter lists in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The U.P. and Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officers have since denied these claims.
He also alleged that 40,009 voters had non-existent or unverified addresses, with fake details in columns like father’s name. Gandhi presented a photo of a single-room house where 80 different voters were supposedly registered, and a commercial brewery with 68 voters listed at its address.
He also cited 4,132 instances of invalid photos on voter IDs and alleged that Form 6, meant for new voters, was misused for 33,692 voters, including a 70-year-old woman, Shakun Rani, who was registered twice as a new voter.
Political Fallout and Reactions
Gandhi’s allegations have drawn strong reactions from both sides of the political spectrum.
The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and the Maharashtra CEO have asked Gandhi to submit his evidence under oath. In response, Gandhi stated, “I am a politician, what I say to the people is my word… Take it as an oath.”
He also criticized the ECI for not denying the information but instead asking for an oath.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the claims, questioning the changing figures presented by Gandhi and accusing him of “stealing the people’s mandate” with false statements.
Leaders of the INDIA bloc, however, expressed support for Gandhi’s presentation. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi called the meeting “positive,” and CPI general secretary D. Raja described it as “very meaningful.”
National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah said, “I saw how votes are stolen,” and raised concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also hailed Rahul Gandhi for disclosing “astounding facts” bringing to light “massive electoral fraud” and accused the Election Commission of becoming an “agent” of the government.
Upcoming Protests
In light of these allegations, the INDIA bloc leaders are scheduled to hold a protest march from Parliament House to the Election Commission on August 11 to protest the SIR in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi is also set to lead a separate protest march to the Karnataka Election Commission Office in Bengaluru on Friday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was present at the dinner meet, has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi resign and dissolve the government based on Gandhi’s allegations.