New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in a scathing press conference on Thursday, August 7, accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of enabling large-scale electoral fraud to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), particularly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
Citing alleged discrepancies in the voter lists, non-transparent data handling and suspicious voter turnout spikes, Gandhi called the irregularities a "crime against the Constitution of India".
Here are the ten major allegations raised by Rahul Gandhi:
1. Maharashtra Results 'Confirmed' Poll Was Stolen
Gandhi claimed that the results in Maharashtra Lok Sabha polls only reinforced the INDIA bloc's suspicions of manipulated elections, with signs of rigging clearly visible across constituencies.
2. Unbelievable Rise in New Voters
He also alleged that the number of new voters added to the rolls in Maharashtra exceeded the state’s population growth itself, raising a red flag which, according to him, pointed to deliberate manipulation.
3. Suspicious Turnout Surge Post 5:30 pm
The Congress leader further questioned the late-evening spike in voter turnout, adding that such a dramatic rise after 5:30 pm was highly suspicious and lacked proper explanation.
4. Lack of Access to Crucial Electronic Data
Gandhi expressed his frustration that the EC was withholding electronic data that could help analyse the polling process more effectively. “It would take us 30 seconds,” he said, if access was given.
5. Data Shared Is Not Machine-Readable
He further alleged that the EC was deliberately sharing scanned documents that cannot be processed using OCR (optical character recognition), making voter list scrutiny virtually impossible.
6. EC Ignoring Complaints on 1 Crore New Voters
Gandhi alleged that nearly one crore new names were added to Maharashtra's rolls between Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, and despite raising concerns, the EC failed to respond.
7. 'Vote Chori' in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura
He cited the Mahadevapura assembly seat in Karnataka, alleging that over one lakh votes were “stolen” from a total of 6.5 lakh, highlighting a glaring instance of what he termed "vote chori" (stolen votes).
8. Over One Lakh Duplicate and Invalid Voters Found
According to Congress’s own research, the Mahadevapura constituency contained over 1 lakh duplicate or invalid entries, including fake addresses and bulk voters.
9. 'Voter Fraud Is Systemic, Not Isolated'
Gandhi insisted this was not a one-off incident. “We are absolutely convinced this crime is happening across state after state,” he said, pointing to a national-level pattern that many observed.
10. EC Is 'Destroying Evidence' Instead of Acting
He also accused the EC of attempting to erase evidence, specifically CCTV footage and voter lists, which he claimed now form part of the evidence of a broader electoral crime.
In response to Gandhi's serious allegations, the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka wrote an official a letter to him, which was shortly released publicly.
Have a look:
"It is understood that during a Press Conference held today, you had mentioned about the inclusion of ineligible electors and exclusion of eligible electors in the Electoral Rolls cited at Para 3. You are kindly requested to sign and return the enclosed Declaration/Oath under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, along with the name(s) of such elector(s) so that necessary proceedings can be initiated," he wrote in the letter.
