Rahul Gandhi Accuses PM Modi of "Stealing Votes," Urges Karnataka Govt to Probe Electoral Fraud.......

Bengaluru: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power by "stealing votes" and demanded an investigation by the Karnataka government into alleged bogus voting in the state. Addressing the 'Our Vote, Our Right, Our Fight' rally at Freedom Park, Gandhi accused the Election Commission (EC) of facilitating electoral fraud and reiterated his demand for the release of machine-readable voter lists and videography records from the last decade. He specifically cited the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat as an example of a "stolen" constituency, calling it a "criminal act" against democracy.

Gandhi claimed that 1,00,250 votes were manipulated in the Mahadevapura assembly segment through duplicate voters (11,965), fake addresses (40,009), bulk registrations at single addresses (10,452), invalid photos (4,132), and misuse of Form-6 for first-time voters (33,692), which allegedly benefited the BJP. "The Karnataka government must investigate this crime. EC officials who added fake voters must be questioned," he said, vowing to prove that Modi became PM with a narrow margin in key seats. "If we get the data, we will show how votes were stolen," he asserted, alleging that the BJP won 25 crucial seats by just 34,000 votes.

Gandhi claimed that the Congress should have won 15-16 seats in Karnataka but secured only nine due to electoral malpractices. He accused the EC of undermining the constitutional principle of "one person, one vote" and warned against attempts to destroy election data, calling it "evidence of crime." His team spent six months analyzing voter lists in Bangalore Central, comparing photos and names to expose discrepancies. "If this data is destroyed, it will further the crime," he said, urging immediate transparency from the EC. The Congress has intensified its campaign against the BJP over alleged electoral fraud, framing it as an attack on democracy and the Constitution.

A day after Rahul Gandhi alleged electoral fraud in three states, Election Commission sources said if the Congress leader stands by his claims, he should formally submit details of wrongful voter additions or deletions under electoral rules. The EC dared Gandhi to sign a declaration supporting his allegations, stating failure to do so would prove his accusations baseless. Sources added that if he refuses, it would mean he lacks faith in his own analysis and should apologize to the nation. The rebuttal comes after Gandhi accused the BJP of manipulating votes and demanded an investigation.