Allegations of Vote Chori raise demands for independent investigation

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, addressing the media on September 19, 2025, reiterated his allegation of large-scale “vote theft” in India. He criticized Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) was not fulfilling its constitutional duty. Gandhi cited instances from Karnataka and Maharashtra, claiming that voter names were deleted or added fraudulently.

According to Gandhi, in the Aland assembly constituency of Kalburgi district, around 6,000 names were allegedly removed from the voters’ list ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. He said the deletions disproportionately affected Congress strongholds. Following complaints, the Election Commission reviewed the matter, restored several names, and an FIR was filed by the Electoral Registration Officer. The Karnataka CID later investigated the case, reporting that fake names had been used to file deletion requests. The CID sought technical details from the Election Commission, including IP addresses, OTP trails, and mobile numbers linked to the objections.

Gandhi alleged that similar practices had occurred in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, where over 6,800 names were added in what he described as a fraudulent manner. He claimed such incidents had also taken place in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. In a post on X, Gandhi said the alleged process of voter deletion was systematic and technology-driven.

This was Gandhi’s third press conference on the issue in two months. On August 7, 2025, he first alleged that a coordinated “vote theft” operation was underway, which he attributed to a wider network influencing elections nationwide. He described two primary methods of malpractice: the addition of fictitious names and the deletion of legitimate voters.

The Election Commission has rejected Gandhi’s allegations as “incorrect and baseless.” It stated that no individual can delete names online, as suggested, and emphasized its independent role in maintaining electoral rolls. The Commission asked Gandhi to submit an affidavit substantiating his claims or issue a public apology.

Gandhi, however, has maintained that the EC should cooperate with the Karnataka CID investigation and provide the requested data. He argued that transparency is necessary to ensure public confidence in the electoral process.

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between the Opposition and the Election Commission regarding the integrity of electoral rolls. While Gandhi has called for an independent investigation, the EC has denied wrongdoing. The matter remains under scrutiny, with further developments likely depending on the Karnataka CID probe.

---

*Journalist based in Chennai

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Search This Blog