'1 lakh out of 6.5 lakh votes stolen': Rahul Gandhi alleges massive vote theft in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura seat

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of overseeing what he called a "choreographed election" during a press conference on Thursday. He alleged that over 1 lakh votes were stolen in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Karnataka, helping the BJP win the seat and gain a crucial advantage.

Rahul presented internal research done by the Congress party on the Mahadevapura seat. He claimed that while Congress won other nearby Assembly constituencies, the BJP’s victory in this one segment decided the final outcome.

"We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house...Invalid photos...Then the misuse of Form 6. Form 6 allows new people to become voters," he said.

Anti-incumbency not affecting the BJP?

The Congress leader also questioned why the BJP, unlike other political parties, doesn’t seem to face anti-incumbency in elections.

"Anti-incumbency hits every single party in every democracy, but for some reason, the BJP is the only party that does not suffer from anti-incumbency in a democracy. Exit polls and opinion polls say one thing...suddenly the results go in another direction with a massive swing," Rahul added, citing examples from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, where election outcomes contradicted pre-poll surveys and internal predictions.

Concerns over multi-phase polling

Rahul also raised doubts about how elections are now held in different phases across the country. He said that earlier, elections were conducted in a single day without EVMs, but now the process stretches over weeks with separate dates for each state or region.

"Now, UP has a different voting day, and Bihar has some other day. Voting goes on for a month. This made us suspicious. Suddenly, the dates of the Haryana and Karnataka elections were changed," he said.

Claims of voter list manipulation in Maharashtra

Rahul repeated his earlier allegations about fake voters being added before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. He said that in the five months before the elections, more voters were added to the rolls than in the previous five years.

“More voters than the entire population of Maharashtra,” he alleged.

He also pointed out a sudden spike in voter turnout after 5 PM and claimed that 1 crore additional voters appeared between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls.

Election Commission responds

Rahul Gandhi's response comes after the Election Commission of India on Saturday claimed that Gandhi is yet to respond to its June letter regarding his allegations of "election rigging" in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The EC said the Congress leader has not responded to an official invitation extended to him nearly two months ago. "Why? Is it because his media statements were baseless?" ECI sources asked.

In a letter dated June 12, the Election Commission had invited the Leader of the Opposition for an interaction regarding "rigging" in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which he raised in a write-up that he wrote for a newspaper on June 7. He had claimed that the same would be repeated in the Bihar assembly polls due later this year.

The June 12 letter reads, "We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates. However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us, and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues. A convenient date and time may be communicated in this regard at the email ID."