Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, addressed a rally in Bengaluru, Karnataka, where he accused the Election Commission (EC) and the BJP of electoral malpractices. He stated that stealing votes is a betrayal of the Constitution and that every citizen has the right to vote. Gandhi highlighted the importance of protecting the Constitution.
Gandhi alleged that vote theft occurred and directly targeted the BJP, noting that the party gained in areas where new votes were added. He cited the Maharashtra elections following the Lok Sabha elections, where the Congress-led coalition won the Lok Sabha, but the BJP subsequently won the state assembly. He claimed an investigation revealed that a significant number of new voters, approximately 1 crore, participated in the assembly elections, who had not voted in the Lok Sabha elections.
Gandhi stated that these new voters, who did not vote in the Lok Sabha elections, mysteriously appeared to vote in the assembly elections, and the BJP secured victories in those areas. He emphasized that while his coalition’s votes remained consistent, all the added voters favored the BJP.
Gandhi further mentioned his concerns after the Karnataka elections, where the initial polling data indicated his party would win 15-16 seats, but they only won 9. He stated that he and his party requested voter lists and video recordings from the EC, but these requests were denied. He initiated an investigation in the Mahadevapura constituency, accusing the EC and the BJP of stealing votes in Karnataka.
Gandhi claimed that out of 6.5 lakh votes in Mahadevapura, approximately 1 lakh were stolen through various methods, including duplicate voters, fake addresses, multiple voters at the same address, invalid photos, and misuse of Form 6. He alleged that the EC and the BJP were responsible for the theft of 1 lakh votes.