Political Storm Erupts Before Bihar Election Over Voter List Tampering Allegation By Rahul Gandhi

Advertisment

Alleging nationwide electoral fraud, Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, is responsible for covering up a voter deletion scam. During the much-hyped press conference on Thursday, the Congress leader said that ‘someone’ was carrying out voter deletions in regions with Congress strongholds.

The second explosive press conference following the ‘vote chori’ claim, Gandhi showed some evidence of deleting voters, which he alleged was a ‘centrally coordinated’ scam.

Voter Deletion in Congress-Dominated Regions

Advertisment

In a sharp attack, Rahul Gandhi alleged that erasing voters is specifically targeted at booths where Congress generally leads. In the Aland constituency of Karnataka, Gandhi claimed an attempt to delete at least 6,018 votes. The opposition leader cited the case of a woman named Godabai, whose name was allegedly used to create fake logins to delete 12 voters, without her knowledge.


Fake logins

While presenting slides, Rahul Gandhi showed several fake logins and mobile numbers used in the deletion process, from outside Karnataka. Citing the example of deleting 12 voters in just 14 minutes by a person named Suryakant, Gandhi mentioned the ruling party and CEC as a 'sophisticated vote chori factory'.

In another instance, a man named Nagaraj allegedly filled out two deletion forms in just 38 seconds, which Rahul Gandhi stated was "humanly impossible".

Advertisment

He said, "Verification showed 5,994 were forged, only 24 genuine. 2,494 voters were actually deleted before the fraud was caught. Strong Congress booths, especially with Dalit and minority voters, were targeted." 


Call centre-style operation

The Congress figurehead alleged that “a centralised software-based operation, possibly run out of a call centre, is behind the voter deletions”.

“The same mobile number was allegedly used to file applications in multiple states. The system was built to manipulate both voter deletions and additions,” he added.


EC Ignored 18 Letters 

Advertisment

Rahul Gandhi directly accused Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), of safeguarding criminals behind the scam.

He further claimed that Karnataka CID wrote 18 letters over 18 months with crucial evidence, but the Election Commission never responded meaningfully.


Fake Additions in Maharashtra

Rahul Gandhi claimed that multiple fake voters were added in the Rajura Assembly of Maharashtra. One example of bizarre entries was shown in the presentation:

Voter name: ‘YUH UQJJW’

Address: ‘Sasti, Sasti’

Advertisment

He claimed the same pattern was found in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.


One-week Deadline for EC

Rahul Gandhi demanded that the “Election Commission of India release data on the mobile numbers and OTPs used in the scam within a week, or it would prove the CEC is actively protecting the vote chors (thieves).”

The Minister raised serious questions of "Who approved these deletion records? Where is the OTP audit trail? When will deleted voters be restored? Why is ECI refusing to cooperate with CID? Who is the ECI trying to protect? When the fraud is this clear, what more evidence is the ECI waiting for? Whom are they shielding?"

Advertisment

Heavily publicised as the “big reveal”, Rahul Gandhi admitted the real evidence is under preparation. He mentioned Thursday’s press conference as a “part of the build-up, backed by irrefutable data”.

“Not going to say anything on this stage that is not backed up by 100 per cent proof,” Gandhi said, and concluded by saying that the hydrogen bomb "Preparations are underway.”

Previously, on August 7, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference accusing the Election Commission of conspiring with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He alleged 1 lakh illegal entries in the Mahadevapura constituency in Karnataka and cited numerous data irregularities, including fake names, invalid addresses, and repeated non-cooperation by the EC.

Advertisment

Shortly after the press conference, the Election Commission of India (ECI) dismissed the allegations as “incorrect and baseless”