A report by: Arouj Fatima
Opposition Leader Mr. Gandhi Asserted a Vote Theft Proceeded by India’s Election Commission, which ultimately uplifted BJP’s voting and led to a winning situation in last year’s election. During a press conference, Gandhi outspoked the unfair tilt of the Election Commission towards BJP in the high benefits of Prime Minister Modi in the 2024 voting. Congress Party Member Rahul Gandhi Confessed to Have Gone Through Extreme Inconveniences in the Course of Poll Results of Last Year. He Further States that the Disclosure of Vote Tally Became a Stumbling Block for them.
These Accusations Were Immediately Waved Off by the Counter Remark of ECI that Congress Aims to Dismantle Their Decorum and Reputation of Election Commission to Amplify Chaos.
Nature of Allegations Exacerbated to Peak Following the Congress Party Demanding Clear Convictions and Explanation Regarding Vote Theft The Rally Was Terminated Midst Marching Towards ECI Head Office, Voting The Recent Scenario Rahul Gandhi Was Being Arrested Alongside Other Members Of The Accusing Side Rahul Gandhi Confirmed “This Dispute Is Not Ministerial It Is To Save The Canon”.
The opposition’s focus was on the Mahadevapura assembly constituency, part of Bangalore city’s legislative segment in Karnataka in the southern region. The official count, as per sources, saw the INC lose to the BJP candidate by more than 114,000 votes.
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi accused party workers of finding proof of mass irregularities in over 100,000 entries in the electoral rolls of Mahadevapura for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He said discrepancies involved duplicate names of voters, false addresses, groups of voters enrolled at a single address, invalid photos, and abuse of new voter registration forms.
Referring to one instance, Gandhi alleged 46 voters from different families were listed to be living in a one-bedroom house. Party delegations, who went to the house, were said to have found no such residents upon visiting the house.
The Congress leader also accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of not supplying machine-readable electronic voter rolls but only non-searchable ones and restricting access to CCTV footage from voting booths—steps which, he charged, allowed the BJP to “steal” the election.
Gandhi also alleged the same electoral malpractices in the state elections in Haryana and Maharashtra held in October and November 2024.
India’s general election, billed as the world’s biggest democratic exercise, witnessed nearly a billion voters choose 543 members of the lower house of parliament. The exercise—across 28 states and eight union territories—involved about 15 million electoral officials in charge of the process, and held in several phases over six weeks.
Even though the BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost its majority outright in 2024, it still held power as the majority party in the house with 240 seats, with Congress taking 99.
In a tweet on X, the ECI stated that Gandhi was attempting to avoid procedure and mislead Indian voters.
In a press release, Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) dismissed Gandhi’s allegations, highlighting that results of elections are challengeable only by way of a lawful judicial before the High Court.
Gandhi is also requested to furnish documentary evidence on vow by commission.
“Either put your signature to the declaration of issues you have raised in the press conference, which you hold to be true, or otherwise apologize to the country,” the ECI tweeted on X.
But a former India chief election commissioner, Om Prakash Rawat, explained to DW that the ECI could have acted more strongly to specifically respond to Ghandi’s accusations by promptly calling for an inquiry.
“In the past we have always discovered the facts and placed them in the public arena to resolve everything. This request for an oath prolongs the issue, generating confusion in the public,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BJP launched a counterattack against the Congress leader, with national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asserting that Gandhi should resign from Parliament if he lacks trust in the ECI.
The ruling party also demanded that he file the declaration on oath.
The BJP in a tweet accused Gandhi of “spreading falsehoods, evading evidence, democratic institutions, and misleading the public.”
