‘Vote theft’ claims: Congress allegations and EC’s response so far
Several parties have backed Congress’s campaign against alleged vote theft, and they have held protests; here's what the EC has said on specific allegations
Over the past week, the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has relentlessly targeted the Election Commission (EC), accusing it of “vote chori” (vote theft), and the poll body has responded, dismissing them as “wild allegations”.
Several Opposition parties have backed the Congress’s campaign against alleged vote theft, and they have held protests too.
Also read: Tejashwi Yadav alleges voter-list manipulation by Bihar BJP leader
The Federal brings you an account of how the Opposition vs EC match over 'vote theft' has panned out so far.
‘EC colluding with BJP to steal elections’
It was last Thursday (August 7) when Rahul cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that more than 1 lakh votes were “stolen” through five types of manipulation in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka.
Rahul, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, accused the EC of colluding with the BJP to “steal the elections”.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi has tea with 'dead' voters from Bihar, takes a dig at EC
Responding to Rahul’s allegations, the EC asked the former Congress president to sign a declaration/oath as per Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, or apologise to the country.
“Either sign the Declaration on issues you have raised in the press conference which you believe is true or else Apologise to the Nation,” the EC said.
Rahul's reply to this was that he had taken oath as an MP in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, on August 1, the EC termed Rahul’s “wild allegations” of “vote chori” as deplorable, saying he has even started threatening the poll body and its staff.
Also read: ‘Vote chori’ claims: EC says documents shown by Rahul don't belong to poll body
“The Election Commission ignores such baseless allegations being made on a daily basis, and despite the daily threats being given, asks all election officials to ignore such irresponsible statements and work in a fair and transparent manner,” the EC said.
Did Karnataka’s Shakun Rani vote twice?
Rahul has alleged that Shakun Rani, whose name appears twice on the electoral roll, has also voted twice, or someone else has voted in her place. Rahul showed polling slips purportedly collected by Congress booth agents from both the polling booths where Rani is allegedly registered as a voter and votes were cast in her name during the Lok Sabha polls.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka denied this and sent a notice and asked Rahul to provide documents over his allegations. The CEO also stated that the person named by Rahul had not voted two times, and the documents shared by him were not from the EC.
Anomalies in Haryana polls
Rahul had also alleged that there were anomalies in the electoral rolls for the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections.
To this, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Haryana denied and requested Rahul to provide documents within 10 days to support his claims.
The Congress leader is yet to reply.
Also read: Minta Devi voter list row: Rijiju slams Congress for mocking Bihar woman
Did EC shut down its website?
The EC had also rejected claims of its websites on Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar being shut down as alleged by Rahul.
“Today, when the people are questioning the Election Commission based on data he released, the EC has shut its website,” Rahul had alleged at the “Vote Adhikar Rally” in Bengaluru on August 8.
‘124-year-old’ Minta Devi row
On Tuesday (August 12), several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties held a protest in the Parliament House complex against the EC voter roll revision in Bihar, with many of them wearing white T-shirts with the name of the “124-year-old voter” allegedly found on Bihar’s voters’ list emblazoned on them.
Congress’s Manickam Tagore alleged that the EC under former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar and incumbent CEC Gyanesh Kumar has become a department of the BJP.
However, the Siwan district administration has admitted that it was a clerical error.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s '80 voters in one house' claim: What we found in Mahadevapura | Fact-Check
“During the verification process, Minta Devi’s Aadhaar card was reviewed and her correct date of birth was found to be July 15, 1990,” a letter dated August 11, by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Daraundha Assembly constituency confirmed the error. It was addressed to the District Election Officer.
Devi spoke to multiple news platforms and confirmed that while she had filled 1990 as her year of birth in the enumeration form, the online record registered her year of birth as 1900, thereby 'turning' her 124 years old.
As the Congress continues its campaign against “vote chori”, the issue is far from over.