New Delhi, August 7: Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday, alleging large-scale voter fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Karnataka and claiming that recent elections in India are being "choreographed".
At a press conference, Gandhi presented what he described as the Congress party's internal analysis of voting patterns in the Mahadevapura constituency, where he alleged that 1,00,250 votes were fraudulently cast. "We are calling it 'vote chori' – a theft of votes," he said, accusing the BJP of benefitting from the alleged irregularities.
"Our internal polling indicated we would win 16 seats in Karnataka, and we ended up with nine," said Gandhi. "We focused on the seven constituencies where we faced unexpected defeats, narrowing down to one Lok Sabha seat, and within it, the Mahadevapura Assembly stood out."
Citing data from the Election Commission, he explained: "In total, 6.26 lakh votes were polled in the Lok Sabha seat. The BJP won with 6,58,915 votes, a margin of 32,707. But in Mahadevapura, BJP polled 2,29,632 votes against Congress’ 1,15,586 — a massive lead that secured them the seat, despite us winning other Assembly segments in the area."
Gandhi went on to allege that these votes were "stolen in five different ways" — including duplicate voters, fake addresses, multiple voters registered at a single address, invalid photographs, and misuse of Form 6, which allows new voters to register. “We visited several addresses where 50-60 voters were registered, only to find one family living there,” he claimed.
He also questioned how the BJP, unlike any other party, seemed immune to anti-incumbency. "In democracies around the world, ruling parties suffer anti-incumbency. But in India, the BJP seems untouched by it. Even in states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, where exit and opinion polls showed one outcome, the results told a different story with massive swings," he said, implying manipulation.
Highlighting the prolonged polling process in different states, Gandhi remarked, “Earlier, elections used to be conducted in a single day. Now, different states vote on different dates, with the process stretching over a month. This too raises concerns. For instance, the dates for the Haryana and Karnataka elections were changed without clear reasons.”
He reiterated similar concerns in Maharashtra, where he said voter rolls saw an unprecedented spike in new registrations. "In five months ahead of the elections, more voters were added than in the previous five years. The voter increase even exceeded the actual population growth. A sudden surge in turnout after 5 PM further adds to the suspicion," he added. According to him, this led to the opposition being wiped out in the Assembly polls, despite doing well in the Lok Sabha elections.
His remarks come in the wake of the ECI's statement last Saturday, claiming that Gandhi has not responded to its letter from June regarding his allegations of rigging in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Commission said it had invited him to present any evidence or concerns in person, but received no reply.
In its June 12 letter, the ECI wrote, “We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by INC candidates. However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us or meet us at a mutually convenient date and time.”
The Commission’s sources have questioned why Gandhi has not taken up the ECI's offer for discussion, suggesting that his allegations may not be substantiated.
Gandhi had initially raised these concerns in a newspaper article published on June 7, warning that similar issues could emerge in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections later this year. ( Agency Input)
