New Delhi, August 7: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has alleged widespread voter fraud in the electoral rolls since the 2024 general elections, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a detailed press conference on Thursday, Gandhi claimed that a systematic effort had been made to manipulate the voter lists and tip election outcomes. He said the Congress had spent six months gathering what he called “concrete evidence of vote chori” (vote theft), which included thousands of duplicate or fake voter entries, bulk registrations from single addresses, and widespread misuse of Form 6.
‘A Crime Against the Constitution’
Presenting data from the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhi highlighted an unusually large vote margin in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. While Congress won six out of seven segments in the constituency, it lost in Mahadevapura by over 1.14 lakh votes.
According to the Congress’s analysis, this discrepancy could be attributed to over 1 lakh suspect votes in Mahadevapura alone, including:
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11,965 duplicate voters
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40,009 with fake or invalid addresses
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10,452 bulk voters (many registered at a single address)
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4,132 voters with invalid photographs
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33,692 misusing Form 6
Gandhi said this manipulation was not isolated and that similar irregularities were being committed across the country, describing it as a “crime against the Indian Constitution and the Indian flag.”
“If the ECI refuses to share machine-readable voter lists and CCTV footage, they are partaking in the crime,” Gandhi asserted, calling for judicial oversight into the electoral process.
BJP’s Narrow Wins Under Scrutiny
Gandhi claimed the BJP needed to win only about 25 close-call seats to form the government, and alleged that many of those were won with margins of under 33,000 votes. “That’s all it took—25 stolen seats to retain power,” he said.
He questioned why the BJP appeared immune to anti-incumbency, even as public dissatisfaction was visible in internal and exit polls. “Anti-incumbency affects every party—except the BJP. Something doesn’t add up,” he said.
Gandhi criticised the “choreographed” nature of elections today, suggesting that longer poll durations, restricted data access, and denial of transparency were signs of an electoral system being manipulated behind the scenes.
ECI Responds, Demands Proof
Hours after the press conference, the Election Commission of India formally asked Rahul Gandhi to submit the evidence he presented. The Karnataka Chief Electoral Office issued a letter requesting Gandhi to provide signed details of ineligible or excluded voters, along with a declaration under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Gandhi has until August 8 to submit the data and documents to the ECI. The letter noted that he had made serious allegations about voter roll manipulation in several states, and that appropriate legal action would follow based on the evidence submitted.
‘Take This as an Oath’
Addressing the media, Gandhi said, “I’m a politician, and I’m speaking directly to the people. Take this as an oath. If the ECI believes I’m lying, let them say it.”
He added that his concerns were first triggered during the 2023 Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh and confirmed in the 2024 Maharashtra polls—both of which the Congress lost to the BJP.
Gandhi argued that India’s democracy cannot function unless its voter rolls are accurate and transparent. “The very foundation of our Constitution rests on one person, one vote. If that is violated, everything else collapses,” he warned.