Bhubaneswar, August 9: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das has extended full support to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of “vote theft” against the Election Commission, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to cling to power “by any means.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Das claimed that electoral malpractice had prevented the Congress from forming governments in multiple states. “Our leader Rahul Gandhi speaks with facts before the nation. Due to vote theft in Maharashtra, the BJP formed the government instead of us. The same happened in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Now, in Bihar, too, there are attempts to steal votes. Around 65 lakh voters have been removed from the electoral rolls,” he alleged.
Das further stated that the Congress has been demanding access to digital electoral data from the Election Commission, but the request has been denied. “They say no vote theft occurred, yet refuse to share the digital data. This is part of the BJP’s strategy to remain in power by any means necessary,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia urged Rahul Gandhi to file a formal complaint if he believed the Election Commission was involved in malpractice. He accused the Congress of routinely blaming external factors for electoral defeats.
The controversy erupted after Rahul Gandhi, during an August 7 press conference, alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were “choreographed” to favour the BJP, which he claimed appeared “immune to anti-incumbency.” He asserted that the EC’s actions had undermined democratic fairness.
